Another Minstrel's Tale
by Minstrel164
Summary: Richard the Minstrel returns with another tale of the Adventures of the fair Detective Kate Beckett. Set post Knockdown.
1. Chapter 1

_**Well dear Reader, there were some of you who wanted more tales from Richard the Minstrel. I made the promise that he would return. Well, the wait has come to an end for he has returned with a new tale to tell. I hope you enjoy it.**_

Another Minstrel's Tale

Chapter 1

Richard Castle emerged from his office to find the living room lights muted. He had not intended to work for too long but he had become engrossed in the chapter he had been writing and lost track of time. He had wanted to finish the neglected chapter as quickly as possible so that he could spend time with his favourite detective. Before disappearing into his office he had left Kate and Alexis together watching a film.

He saw Kate sitting on the couch resting her arm on the back of the couch with her head in her hand. On reaching the couch he found that Alexis wasn't there. He frowned on finding Kate alone. He was concerned that his daughter had left Kate on her own.

As he walked around the couch he glanced at the television to see what was on. It was some late night show. The sound was turned down low. Kate had her eyes closed. Castle slowly sat down on the couch trying not to wake her for the moment. As soon as he sat down Kate opened her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep, Castle."

"Oh really?"

"I was just resting my eyes."

"Okay." Castle chuckled softly. "Where's Alexis?"

"She had some homework to finish." Kate explained. "I sent her off to do it."

"Okay." Castle was not too happy with that but let it slide.

He watched her for some moments and saw her trying to focus on the television but her eyelids were heavy and were drooping constantly.

"Come on it's time for you to go to bed." Castle announced suddenly.

Kate shook her head and continued starting at the television.

"You need to get your rest."

Kate shook her head. "No, I'm not tired."

"Yes, you are."

"No."

Castle regarded her silently for some moments. She still looked pale which was understandable and she was struggling to stay awake. Her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier but she was fighting the urge to close them.

"Right, missy, you're going to bed." Castle said in a tone he had not used since Alexis was five years old and being truculent. It surprised him that it had come to him so effortlessly.

Kate turned sharply to look at the writer surprised at the tone of voice he had just used. She flashed him a glare.

"Don't be giving me that look, missy." Castle scolded gently. "Now you have two options, I can carry you to your room or..."

"I can walk there on my own, Castle." Kate hissed angrily.

"Okay."

Castle rose from the couch and looked down at Kate holding out his hand. She turned her gaze back to the television and ignored the offered hand. A minute passed with neither of them moving. Then another.

"If you want to be treated like a five year old I'm happy to oblige." Castle said breaking the silence.

Kate turned to look at the offered hand. Her eyes slowly moved all the way up to his face. She had been expecting to see a smug grin residing on his face but was startled to see the determined look he wore. Smugness she could have dealt with but sincerity she was having trouble with. It dawned on her that if this was going to be a clash of wills she was going to lose the battle.

Grabbing the remote Kate switched off the television and then tossed it aside. She looked at the offered hand that had not wavered in all that time. Slowly she reached out and took hold of his hand and carefully raised herself off the couch.

Kate allowed him to put his arm around her waist to provide support as they walked slowly towards the stairs. She could have fought him, shrugged off his arm but fighting him would have required too much energy and she did not have the energy, she was tired. She hated that Castle knew it.

The climb up the stairs was slow and laborious. She hated having to rely on anyone's help to get up and down the stairs. She hated this dependence and still she clutched at his free hand as she took each step carefully. Castle said nothing but encouraging words. Her legs were rubbery by the time she had climbed three quarters of the way up the stairs from the exertion. A thin film of sweat had broken across her forehead. Her breathing became shallow and rapid from the effort. She did not resist when Castle seeing her struggling suddenly picked her up and carried her the rest of the way.

Kate studied his face, the look of concern and worry seemed to be etched there as he gently lay her on the bed and then helped her into the bed. He drew the blanket up. A small smile appeared on his face to soften the concern.

"You must be enjoying this?" Kate remarked as Castle tucked her in and seeing the small smile on his face.

"What, getting to tuck you into bed?" Castle said as he sat on the edge of the bed beside her. "I don't mind. I kind of like it."

Kate shook her head. "Me being dependant on you."

The smile vanished from Castle's face. "Seeing you in pain brings me no joy, Kate." He said quietly. "It breaks my heart...to see you this way and yes, I'll do anything in power to help you get better."

Kate knew that he meant every word. It both comforted her and scared her at the same time. They sat there in silence for some minutes.

"I think I should let you get some rest." Castle announced as he rose slowly from the bed.

Kate suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the wrist. Castle was surprised by her action and sat back down.

"Don't go."

"Kate you need to rest."

"Don't go."

"But..."

"Stay...please?"

Castle saw the pleading, desperate look in her eyes. He also saw a flicker of fear. It was in that moment he understood.

"Bad dreams?" He ventured.

Kate nodded her head. Castle released her hold of his wrist and slowly moved so that he could stretch out on the bed beside her, making sure not to jostle or hurt her. He reached for her hand and started to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb like he had done at the hospital. He gazed into her luminous emerald eyes and saw some of the fear ebb away.

"It's going to be all right." He told her.

Castle wondered how he could say that to her. The gunman who had shot her was still on the run and there were no leads. She was still in danger. How could he tell her that it was going to be all right? Was it just to give her some comfort, to settle her fears? Just like the words he had spoken to her as she lay bleeding on the ground in those desperate minutes in the cemetery? No, he was a writer and he believed in the power of the word. He believed that it was going to be all right, just like he had spoken from the heart when he told her he loved her before the darkness reached out to claim her her.

"Tell me a story." Kate whispered, breaking the silence and drawing Castle from his thoughts. "Tell me a tale from the Minstrel."

Castle grinned. "You liked that huh?"

Kate nodded her head. A small smile appeared on her lips.

"All right."

Castle made himself a little more comfortable on the bed.

"But I want an original one."

"An original?" Castle raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you liked the other one?"

"I did. But I want an original story."

"An original story?"

"Yes. Being a world famous author and all, I would have thought you could easily come up with one." Kate challenged.

"An original, huh?" Castle mused stroking his chin with exaggeration.

"Yes."

"Then your wish my command, my lady." Castle chuckled.

Castle did not have to think for long to come up with a story. There had been many times when Alexis was sick he would conjure up stories at the drop of a hat that would entertain her. He had a large collection of stories he could summon to tell Kate. Yet he did not call upon them. She had asked for an original story so that is what she would get. He thought for a moment and soon the elements of the story began to form in his mind. He smiled brightly at Kate.

"Once upon a time..."

"Do you really have to start a story with _'once upon a time'_?" She questioned.

"It's mandatory." Castle assured her. "It's the storytelling rules."

Kate smiled and nodded indicating that he should continue.

"_...Once upon a time in a land far, far away Richard the Minstrel came bounding into his kitchen with a spring in his step and boundless energy to confront the new day that had arrived. It was a beautiful morning with the sun shining and the birds singing in the trees. He could not remember the last time he had felt this happy. He was happy because once again he would be assisting the constabulary of the city that he loved in solving crime and more to the point he would be working with the fair Detective Kate Beckett._

_For the past few months Richard the Minstrel had been privileged following the fair Detective and her team of the steadfast Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan as they went about solving murders._

_Truly from the moment he had watched her walking away following the arrest of Harrison of Tisdale, with that seductive swing to her hips that had left him both breathless and mesmerised, not to mention the warm caress of her breath against his ear as she hinted of pleasures unknown when she declined his invitation to join him for diner. Richard The Minstrel knew there and then that he had found the character of his next book._

_It had not been an easy task to get permission to tag along with the constabulary for they were not welcoming of outsiders at the best of times. Yet Richard the Minstrel had an ace up his sleeve and he used it shamelessly. He called upon the offices of his good friend his Lordship the Mayor._

_Needless to say the fair Detective Beckett was less than pleased to learn the Minstrel would be following her around to get background information and research for the new book he was writing. Yet despite her protestations there was little she could do about it. Sir Roy of Montgomery the Sheriff had told her that orders had come from up on high, his Lordship the Mayor himself and she had to make nice with the Minstrel._

_On the outside the fair Kate scowled and complained being lumbered with this most famous of Minstrels but deep down there was a part of her who was secretly thrilled to have Richard the Minstrel following her around to garner his research for the book he was writing. The devotee part of her did cartwheels, figuratively speaking. However, when she learned that he was writing this book about her, the fair Detective Beckett was less keen._

_In the time he had spent following the fair Detective Beckett and her team he knew full well that he could be irritating and annoying but he liked to think that was part of his charm. And yet he wanted to see which buttons he could push to get a reaction from her. His inappropriate jokes laden with double meanings could elicit an adorable roll of the eye or get a suggestion of a smile out of the fair detective. Truth be told he enjoyed playing her court jester._

_And yet despite his antics and jokes he made valuable contributions to the cases they worked on. Amongst the unconventional theories involving shadowy government agencies and outlandish conspiracy theories that he threw out with boundless enthusiasm were sometimes sprinkled with ideas and thoughts that the detectives ran with and lo and behold they were able to solve the case and catch the murderer._

_As Richard the Minstrel sat in his kitchen breaking his fast on this fine morning he gave pause to reflect on the cases he had assisted the fair Detective Beckett._

_There had been the case of the dead nanny who as it turned out was murdered by her friend who also happened to be a nanny. The case of the arrogant school boy he took particular pleasure in getting him to confess in the interrogation room by using his storytelling skills. Then there was the case of the murdered councilman._

_And with each case the Minstrel learned something new about the fair detective, and with each new discovery he became more intrigued and fascinated and wanted to know more about her. Truly from the first moment he had set eyes upon the fair Detective Beckett he wanted to woo her..."_

"Ow!" Castle exclaimed and rubbed his rib where Kate had jabbed him with her elbow.

"I knew you wanted to get into my pants." She said tersely.

"Well, I wouldn't have put it so crudely."

"Really?"

"Given the opportunity, I would have wined and dined you first." Castle grinned at her.

"Castle!"

"What? You're incredibly hot."

"I wish I felt that way now." Kate sighed.

"You will." Castle promised, giving her a tender smile.

Kate did not want to pursue this line of thought right now. "How about you get on with the story, Castle?"

"How about you refrain from hurting me, it kind of spoils my storytelling skills?"

"Okay."

"I was just setting the scene for the story my dear detective." Castle said with a smile. "So impatient."

Kate shot him a glare but there was no anger in the look. He gave her a smile before he returned to the story.

"_...Truly from the first moment he had set eyes upon the fair Detective Beckett he wanted to woo her. Yet the more time he spent with the fair Detective Kate Beckett the more he came to realise that she was no ordinary woman. Certainly she was not like most of the women he was used to. Those that battered their eyes at him in the hope that they could bask in his celebrity. The fair Kate fascinated him all the more when she did not swoon and twitter at his suggestive remarks or antics. Much to his delight he found that the fair detective was more than able to hold her own against his antics and more than a few times she had rendered him speechless with some suggestive comment of her own. He was smitten._

_On this day where we find Richard the Minstrel in his kitchen he was feeling particularly good. Life was good. He had found inspiration for his new book. His publisher the Lady Gina was more than happy with the book outline he had submitted to her. Her threats of doing him irreparable harm were in abeyance for the time being. His enthusiasm for writing had returned which had he had feared was all but lost lost. All ready in his study his desk was strewn with draft chapters and scenes that would or would not find themselves in the new book._

_Yet on this fine morning morning though there was no new case waiting for him he was eager all the same to wend his way the station house._

_Richard the Minstrel swept into the squad room with a theatrical flourish that only a son who has an actress for a mother could accomplished. He greeted people with a cheerful smile and nod as he made his way to the desk where the fair Detective Beckett was sitting. In each hand he held a large paper cup of coffee._

"_Good morrow, my dear detective." The Minstrel said as he placed a cup before her. "How art thou fairing this fine morning?"_

_As she reached for the most welcome of morning presents the fair Detective Beckett looked up at the Minstrel and offered him a smile of gratitude. She brought the coffee to her lips and took a big sip of its contents. Her smile broadened as she closed her eyes and savoured the extra strong caffeine hit._

_Richard the Minstrel found the look on her face adorable. The bringing of coffee in the mornings had become a welcome daily ritual. There were several reasons for this. One was this was a way of thanking the fair Detective in allowing him to her follow her. Another reason was because the concoction found in the station house that passed itself off as coffee tasted more like monkey urine strained through some kind of acidic substance and to say the least was at best undrinkable. And finally the Minstrel had discovered early on the fair Detective Beckett was a fiend for caffeine. _

"_There's no reason for you to be here today Minstrel." the fair Kate informed him. "We've solved the last case and the murderer is behind bars, there is only paperwork to finalise."_

"_I don't mind, my dear detective." The Minstrel replied._

"_You don't have anything else better to do to be occupying your valuable time?"_

"_Nay."_

"_Not some book signing for your adoring devotees?"_

"_No."_

"_Not some storytelling gathering?"_

"_Nope."_

"_Not some meeting at the Guild Of Minstrels?"_

_The Minstrel grinned at her and shook his head. "It appears you are stuck with me, my dear detective."_

_The fair Detective Beckett rolled her eyes and shook her head before turning her attention to the file that was before her. "Tis what I was afraid of." She muttered under her breath._

_The Fair Detective Beckett spent the next few minutes and maybe more trying to concentrate on the paperwork that she had to complete but alas with each passing moment she was finding it increasingly difficult. The source of her difficulty was the Minstrel who was sitting in the chair beside her desk. She could feel his eyes on her. She found it disconcerting, distracting. It must be said that he had been sitting in the chair with nary a peep out of him but he had been constantly watching her as she did her paperwork._

_Finally it got too much and the fair detective said something._

"_Must you constantly watch me, Minstrel?"_

"_Does it bother you?"_

"_It's creepy."_

_Richard the Minstrel smiled at the fair detective. He watched her for a moment and maybe more as she went about her work before he retrieved his note pad and started to jot down some thoughts and ideas. The fair Detective risked a glance in the direction of the Minstrel only to find he was engrossed in writing in his note pad. She could only wonder what he was writing about but suspected it had something to do with her. The fair Kate was a detective after all. She saw the small smile that was on his face, it brought a smile of her own before she quickly turned her attention to the paperwork._

_The morning progressed without the interruption of a new murder to be investigated. The fair Detective Beckett and her team, the steadfast Detectives Esposito and Ryan continued on with their paperwork and Richard the Minstrel continued to scribble away in his note pad._

_At the stroke of noon Richard the Minstrel downed his note pad and quill and rose to his feet. He announced to his constabulary companions that he would bring them all lunch. Before the fair Detective Beckett could utter a protest and before Detectives Esposito and Ryan could call out their luncheon orders, the Minstrel swept out of the squad room with the same kind of theatrical flourish that he used for his entrance in the morning._

_The Minstrel returned to the squad room a short time later bearing a repast that was fit for a king. Not only had the Minstrel brought food for the fair Detective Beckett and the steadfast Detectives Esposito and Ryan but he had also ensured there was enough food for all the other detectives in the squad room._

_The rest of the afternoon appeared for all intents and purposes like it was going to be a quiet one with no body dropping that would have the fair Detective Beckett and her steadfast investigative companions racing out of the squad room to the scene of the crime. It looked like the fair detective and her steadfast investigative companions would remain at their desks dealing with the interminable paperwork, or so Richard the Minstrel thought to himself. He was contemplating that nothing was going to happen and he might bid his leave to return home, pick up his quill and resume working on his new book. _

_Alas for the Minstrel he had thought the thought a little too soon. While he was putting away his note pad and quill in readiness for his impending departure, a red-faced dispatch orderly came bounding up the stairs, huffing and puffing._

_The fair Detective Beckett looked up from her work expecting the dispatch orderly to come to her desk but the man shuffled past her desk and proceeded directly to Sir Roy of Montgomery's office. He bothered not to knock on Sir Roy's door, simply barrelling in._

"_I don't suppose he was delivering Sir Roy's luncheon order?" The Minstrel mused, having witnessed the dispatch orderly._

_The fair Detective Beckett shrugged her shoulders before she returned to her work._

"_We shall know soon enough, Minstrel."_

_The fair Detective's words had barely left her lips when Sir Roy of Montgomery the Sheriff emerged from his office and came striding to her desk._

"_Beckett, Esposito, Ryan, we have a body." He announced. He reached the fair detective's desk and held out the note that the dispatch orderly had just delivered._

_The fair Detective Beckett took the note and read it. The name of the victim seemed familiar to her._

_She looked up to Sir Roy, a questioning expression upon her fair face._

"_It's one of our own." Sir Roy informed her, grimly. "Sergeant Patrick Maloney."_

_The fair Detective Beckett's face darkened, nodded her head and rose to her feet. The steadfast Detectives Esposito and Ryan were all ready upon their feet having gathered their things ready to depart. The fair Detective Beckett swept past them with purpose in her stride and they fell in behind her. The Minstrel followed close on their heels, trying ever so hard not to show his excitement at the turn of events that provided a new murder to be investigated.."_

...Castle paused in his story and looked down to find that Kate had fallen asleep. Her hand was still clutching his and that brought a small smile to his face. He thought about getting up but feared he might wake her. Instead he reached over with his free hand and switched off the lamp on the nightstand and carefully settled in beside her.

XXXXX

_**Well dear Reader what did you think of this opening effort? I await your thoughts.**_

_**Con **_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Castle felt like he had closed his eyes for only a little while. Suddenly he snapped them open to find the room in darkness. He had been awoken by the the sound of Kate's muted murmurings. He felt her hand clutching at his shirt tightly. He reached over to the nightstand and switched on the lamp.

Looking at her face he saw her face was contorted with concern as another nightmare took hold of her. He moved to draw her closer to him making sure not to hurt her. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her.

"Kate, it's all right." He said gently. "It's only a dream."

Kate continued to struggle and murmur.

"Kate, you're safe." Castle said more firmly.

Kate's eyes fluttered open. There was alarm and fear in those green eyes of hers which wrenched Castle's heart. He held her a little tighter as he made soothing noises.

She looked up at him wide-eyed. Seeing Castle the fear began to subside and slowly fade.

"You were having a bad dream." He told her.

Kate closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked up at Castle. She offered him a brief smile telling him that she was all right. She then rested her head against his chest.

"Tell me more of your story, Castle." She said in a low voice.

"It's late, you should get some more sleep." Castle countered.

Kate shook her head slowly. The remnants of the bad dream hovered at the periphery and she feared that if she closed her eyes it would return.

"I don't want to sleep just yet."

"Okay." Castle said a small smile on his face. "The story you want, the story you shall have."

Kate gave him a tired smile in return.

"_...We resume our tale to find the fair Detective Beckett emerging from the station house. She strode with purpose to where her stead was tethered and waiting. Richard the Minstrel was beside her matching her steps. He watched as the fair detective as she unhitched her horse and mounted up._

_The Minstrel untied the reins of his horse Derrick and with a flourish leaped into the saddle. He paused and smiled in the direction of the fair Detective Beckett hoping that she had witnessed his mounting and be impressed with his athleticism. Alas the smile on his face faltered when he realised that his effort to impress the fair detective had not been witnessed by the said lady. She had already wheeled her stead and was winging her way down the street. Rather than pout the Minstrel spurred Derrick's flanks and raced after her._

_The steadfast Detectives Esposito and Ryan mounted their owns steeds and set off after their boss and the Minstrel knowing full well that they had but little chance of catching up to them but hoping they did not lose sight of the fair Detective as she was the only one who knew the address of the scene of the murder._

_A ride of half an hour found our fearless four arrive down town outside a modest abode. All ready had gathered a large collection of uniformed constables, more than usually assembled. During the ride Richard the Minstrel had tried to engage the fair Detective Beckett in conversation but she had remained silent spurning his efforts. It took the Minstrel not long to realise that it would be best to remain silent, so he did._

_As Richard the Minstrel dismounted and passed the reins over to a uniform constable who had come forward, he noticed that the constabulary physician had already arrived to the scene of the crime. The 'meat wagon', as the constables so endearingly called the physician's wagon was parked out the front of the modest abode._

_The Minstrel followed the fair Detective Beckett as she approached the house and as he did so he took in the neat front garden with the well tended flower beds and clipped front lawn. Though a modest abode it was well loved and tended well. _

_The fair Detective Beckett stopped suddenly and the Minstrel almost careered into the back of her but for his nimbleness of foot. He espied that the fair detective had stopped in front of a pair of men who stood before the front entrance to the house. They were of the same height and grim visage, one man was nattily dressed in hose and tunic, his dark locks had recently been barbered. His companion wore a faded brown knee length tunic that was cinched at the waist by a leather belt, his hair was long and lanky coming down to his shoulders with a beard covering his face. And it did not take the Minstrel much brain power to deduce that they were colleagues of the deceased. The Minstrel would later know their names, constables Gibson and Selkirk._

"_We want in on this case, Beckett." Said the nattily dressed Gibson._

"_Alas that is not to be." The fair Detective Beckett replied._

"_Tis our skipper in there." Said Selkirk, angrily._

"_I understand and truly I am sorry for your loss but you know the rules, gentlemen."_

"_Beckett..." The first man said in a pleading tone of voice._

"_Stand aside." The fair Detective Beckett said in a voice that was quiet but firm._

_The two investigators standing before her folded their arms across their chests in a silent refusal._

_Richard the Minstrel would not have described himself as a gambling man, well truth be told he had been known to place wagers from time to time in the past, most of which he had lost. But as he watched in silence, observing the confrontation that was unfolding before his eyes between the fair Detective Beckett and the two investigative constables he would have wagered an entire royalty purse on the fair detective to win this stand off._

"_Of this have nod doubt, we will get who ever did this." The fair Detective Beckett added, her voice never rising._

_For a moment and maybe more the two men barring entrance to the fair detective looked like they would not move. Then they looked at each other and as if some silent agreement was made between them they stood aside._

"_Await here, the both of you." The fair Detective Beckett ordered as she proceeded into the house._

_There were uniformed constables in the hallway of the house and they stood aside at the fair Detective Beckett's approach. One of the constables without word pointed her to location of the body._

_Richard the Minstrel followed the fair detective into a modestly decorated living room. There was a couch and two armchairs one of which had a well worn appearance to it as if to suggest the lord of this manor used it quite frequently. Beside the armchair there was a small wooden table upon which sat a large glass open decanter of wine that the lord of the manor imbibed. On the couch was a discarded set of knitting needles with a partially completed blue woollen scarf. Against one wall there was a glass fronted cabinet that was used to store and display china and glassware that no doubt would only come out on those special occasions. A fireplace dominated the room. A row of framed drawings lined the mantle. Above the fireplace was a large framed drawing of the couple in happier times, on their wedding day. There was a nice homey feel to the room, the Minstrel deduced._

_This homey scene was marred by the handful of scenes of crime orderlies who were gathering forensic evidence and more importantly by the body that lay sprawled faced down in front of the hearth. A broken wine glass lay on the carpet. The body was of a man who the Minstrel would have estimated to have been around six foot in height had he been standing. There was a large pool of blood and brain matter staining the carpet and the flagstones of the hearth._

_Crouching beside the body was constabulary physician Dr Lanie Parish. She as was want was making notes on her clipboard. _

"_What say you, Lanie?" The fair Detective Beckett inquired._

_The petite Dr Parish looked up from the notes she was making on her clipboard._

"_We have before us a male Caucasian, aged in his mid thirties."_

"_Identification?"_

"_Tis Sergeant Maloney all right."_

_The fair detective nodded her head. "Cause of his demise?"_

_Dr Parish used her quill to point at the deceased's head._

"_Blunt force trauma to the back of his head."_

_The fair Detective Beckett leaned a little forward to get a better view and saw that the man's head had been caved in a rather savage manner._

"_Pray tell have you any idea what kind of object was used?"_

"_Nothing specific at the moment but from appearances I would venture it was something heavy." Dr Parish reported. "I may have more details after I get him onto my table for a better examination."_

_The fair Detective Beckett nodded her thanks to her friend and turned her attention to one of the senior uniformed constables present._

"_Who found the body?"_

"_His wife." The man replied._

"_And where is she?"_

_The officer jerked his thumb in the direction of the kitchen._

_The fair Detective Beckett turned on her heels and focused her gaze upon the steadfast Detectives Esposito and Ryan._

"_Start canvassing the neighbourhood." She ordered. "Also, speak to his colleagues find out what cases he had been working on, you know the usual routine, any threats made against him and so on and so forth."_

_The steadfast Detectives Esposito and Ryan nodded their heads curtly, made notes in their pads._

"_The Minstrel and I will speak to the spouse." The fair Detective Beckett added._

_Without further word the steadfast Detectives Esposito and Ryan turned and headed out of the room. The Minstrel looked to the fair detective and watched her as she slowly looked about the room silently taking things in, noting them in her mind._

"_Sergeant Maloney was the head of the vice squad out of the one five station house.." The fair Detective Beckett said in answer to the Minstrel's silent question. She turned until she was facing the Minstrel. There was an ever so brief flicker of amusement in those green eyes of hers upon seeing the startled look on the Minstrel's face. For it was indeed the question that had been in the Minstrel's head._

"_Did you know him?"_

_The fair detective shook her head. "Only of him."_

_The Minstrel nodded his head._

"_Shall we speak to the bereaved spouse, Minstrel?"_

_Again the Minstrel nodded his head..."_

Castle peered down and found that Kate had fallen asleep again using his chest as a pillow something which he did not mind in the least. He leaned down and planted a gently kiss on the top of her head and then and then rest his chin against her head. He closed his eyes.

He did not fancy staying up around the clock like he had done the last time. It had taken a lot out of him. Once Kate had woken up in the hospital and knew that she would be fine he had been sent home to sleep. And sleep he did, for a full twenty hours. Not that he would not do it again, for her.

As he listened to Kate's soft and steady breathing it did not take long for sleep to claim the author again.

XXXXX

_**Thoughts?**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Castle awoke as the sun's early rays came filtering into the bedroom. Looking down he gazed at Kate's sleeping face. She looked peaceful as she slept with her hair framing her face in a way that he could only describe as adorable. Her hand was clutching at his shirt and that brought a small smile to his face. He was thankful that she had managed to sleep through.

A look at the clock told him that it was going on for seven o'clock. As much as he wanted to remain where he was he knew he had to get up. There was breakfast to prepare as well as get Kate's medications.

He reached out and as gently as he could slowly began to loosen her hold on his shirt, one finger, then another. She released her hold on his shirt and he placed her hand to her. With that task completed he began to eased himself away when he stopped suddenly when he realised that her head was resting on his other arm.

A frown of concern creased his face. If he moved too much or too soon he would wake her. For some moments he pondered on his dilemma. He did not want to wake her, at least not yet. He wanted to get breakfast ready before waking her. Coming to the realisation that there was no other way, he would have to risk waking her.

As he raised his arm was not surprised to discover there was not much feeling in the arm. He continued to raise his arm and lifted her head as well. Moving ever so slowly he slid her head to rest on the pillow. He paused half expecting that her eyes would open. They remained closed. A smile came to his face, pleased that he had managed to accomplish the task.

When he started to move off the bed he heard Kate murmuring a complaint at the sudden loss of the warmth of his body. Castle drew up the blanket. He turned away from the bed.

"Rick..." Kate said in a sleep filled voice.

"Sssh, I'm just going to get breakfast started."

"Oh."

"I'll bring your breakfast up."

"No. I'll come down."

"When breakfast is ready I'll come get you, okay?"

"Okay." Kate said. She lifted her head from the pillow to look at Castle. "I want to hear the rest of the story."

"And you will." Castle said with a laugh.

Kate was reclining on the small couch in Castle's office. She was propped up with a couple of very comfortable pillows. Castle returned to the office carrying a blanket which he draped over her. Kate gave him a small smile of thanks. Castle then settled himself on the floor beside her.

"You don't have to sit on the floor, you know Rick." Kate said. "There's plenty of room on the couch, I don't mind sharing."

"I'm good." Castle assured her.

Kate noticed some of his hair was sticking up and she reached out and smoothed it down. He turned his head to look at her, smiling.

"So you want to hear the rest of the story?"

"Yes please."

"Unless you want to continue playing with my hair? Either choice is okay with me."

"The story, Castle."

"Okay, now where were we..." Castle mused.

"…_We return to our story to find the fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel entering the kitchen to find the bereaved widow, Mary Maloney seated at the kitchen table. The Minstrel took in the sight of the widow. She was a petite young woman round of face with blonde mousy hair, dressed in a plain cream coloured dress. Her eyes were red from the tears she had shed and would shed again, a soaked handkerchief was clutched in her hand. A fragile figure of misery. The other thing that both the Minstrel and the fair detective espied about the widow was that she was heavy with child._

_The other thing that the Minstrel noticed was that kitchen was rich with the aroma of something cooking in the oven. Lifting his nose in the air he took a surreptitious sniff or maybe two and ruminated silently as to what could be cooking in the oven._

_A uniformed constable stood close by looking a little uncomfortable having to watch over the deceased's spouse. A look of relief flickered across his young face on seeing the arrival of the fair Detective Beckett._

_The fair Detective Beckett looked upon her companion with a small pained expression upon her fair face. Richard the Minstrel understood what she may have been feeling at this moment in time. He was feeling something similar. He gave her an encouraging nod of his head._

_The fair detective carefully approached the kitchen table._

"_Mrs Maloney, my name is Kate Beckett."_

_The grieving Mary Maloney looked up at the fair detective and offered a faltering, timid smile._

"_And this is Richard the Minstrel." The fair Detective Beckett added, motioning to her partner._

_The widow turned her attention to the Minstrel and her face brightened a little, her smile becoming a little stronger._

"_The famous story teller?" Mary said in a voice that seemed an octave above normal._

"_One and the same." The Minstrel replied with a grin. It vanished immediately as he continued to speak. "We are most aggrieved for your loss, Mrs Maloney."_

_The grieving widow accepted the kind words with a small bow of her head.._

"_If you are well enough, Mrs Maloney I have some questions to ask of you." The fair Detective Beckett said._

"_Yes, yes of course."_

_The fair detective pulled out a chair and sat upon it close to Mrs Maloney. She pulled out a notepad and pencil which she rested upon the table. The Minstrel took up his station standing beside the fair Detective Beckett, a gentle, comforting smile fixed upon his ruggedly handsome visage._

"_You were the one who found your husband?" The fair Detective Beckett said._

_Mrs Maloney nodded her head. For a moment it appeared that a fresh wave of tears would mare her face as she relived the moment of finding her spouse dead on the floor but they did not come. She drew in a calming breath._

"_I had stepped out to go to the grocer to get some vegetables." Mrs Maloney said after a hesitant pause._

"_And where is the location of this grocer you went to?"_

"_A couple of blocks down the street."_

"_How long were you away?"_

_Mary Maloney looked thoughtful."No more than half an hour I would say."_

_The fair detective nodded her head and made some notes in her notepad. With gentle encouragement and a smile the fair Detective Beckett elicited the recently widow's story._

_The early afternoon saw a happy and contented Mary Maloney sitting on the couch in her living room. She was busy knitting, trying to finish the scarf she was knitting for her husband. Lo and behold her peace was interrupted by the sudden and unexpected arrival home of her husband Sergeant Maloney from work._

_Sergeant Maloney informed his good wife that he and his boys had cleared up a case early and rather than spend the rest of the afternoon buried in paperwork he decided to leave the paperwork to be done by his underlings and come to spend more time his wife._

_Mary Maloney was happy to have her husband return home at such an early hour of the day, truly she was, for it was not often that her husband came home at a decent hour. She knew well that he had an important job and he worked long hours. On this afternoon Mary Maloney was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Setting aside her knitting she got up and eased her beloved husband into his favourite chair. She poured for him a goodly measure of his favourite wine._

_All of a sudden she found herself in the grips of panic when she realised that she had not made anything for dinner. Excusing herself from her husband's side Mary Maloney ventured into the kitchen and went straight to the ice box to what she could find for husband. It was no little relief that she found a leg of lamb in there. A lamb roast was her husband's favourite, they had it once or twice a week at least._

_She prepared the lamb and then popped it into oven but another panic overcame her when she discovered that she had no vegetables to go with the lamb. And her husband loved vegetables with his roast lamb. He would have been most upset if there were no vegetables to go with the lamb._

_She told him that she was going to pop out for a moment or two to go to the grocer. Sergeant Maloney sent her on her way with a smile and a wave. And upon her return she discovered her husband laying face down on the floor in the living room._

"_Mrs Moloney upon your return home was the door locked?" The fair Detective Beckett inquired._

"_Yes, yes it was. I had to use my key to gain entry."_

"_Did you lock it on your way out?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Did you espy anybody out of the ordinary loitering around in the street, Mrs Maloney?" Richard the Minstrel inquired._

_The widow Maloney looked thoughtful for a moment and maybe more before she shook her head. All of a sudden tears welled up in her eyes and she began to sniffle. It was at that moment that the fair Detective Beckett chose to draw the interview to a close for the time being. She gathered her notepad and rose to her feet._

"_Thank you for your time, Mrs Maloney." The fair detective said. "And again we grieve for your loss."_

_The fair Detective Beckett nodded to the uncomfortable looking uniformed constable to see to the grieving widow. She turned and made her way out of the kitchen. The Minstrel was close on her heels._

_They returned to the living room in time to find orderlies of the police physician lifting the body of Sergeant Maloney onto a stretcher. They quickly covered the body with a shroud of white and then carried the stretcher out to the waiting wagon to return to the morgue. Dr Parish was finishing up in the room._

"_I should have a preliminary report for you within a few hours."_

"_I would be grateful Lanie." the Fair Detective Beckett said._

_Dr Parish took her leave._

_The fair Detective Beckett stood in the living room taking in the scene. The Minstrel chose that moment to come to stand beside her._

"_So, Minstrel what wild theories do you deduce from the evidence presented?"_

_Richard the Minstrel's eyebrows rose skywards in surprise that the fair detective was seeking his thoughts. It touched him deeply that she thought well of him enough to seek his opinion. It brought a small smile to his face._

"_Signs of forced entry into this abode there are not." The Minstrel mused aloud. _

"_So it would appear." The fair detective agreed, casting a glance in the direction of the Minstrel._

"_Envision this..." The Minstrel announced, his face brightening. "A powerful mage using the powers of the Dark Arts appeared from out of thin air here in this room and using his command of said Dark Arts inflicted upon the head of Sergeant Maloney the injury that caused his demise."_

_Richard the Minstrel turned to face the fair Detective Beckett with an expectant look upon his face. Truly it must be said that he did not expect to receive a round of applause from an astonished and grateful fair Detective Beckett. Nor did he expect to see her gush with excitement and praise for the theory that he had just presented. What he did not expect was to be greeted with an unimpressed look from of the woman standing before him. _

"_A mage, really Minstrel?" The fair Detective Beckett replied after a moment. She rolled her eyes and shook her head._

_Though the Minstrel was deflated at the reaction of the fair detective, what he did not espy was the sparkle of amusement in the fair Detective Beckett's emerald eyes. He espied it not for she had turned her head to inspect something._

"_If you have a better theory of what took place in this room you are more than welcome to put words to it, my dear detective."_

"_I will refrain from jumping to conclusions until there is more evidence to assess."_

"_Where is the entertainment in that my dear detective?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett was saved from having to give an answer the Minstrel's question by the return of Detective Ryan. _

"_What have you Kevin?" Inquired the fair detective._

_Detective Ryan shrugged his shoulders before he consulted his notepad. He glanced briefly at his notes and then looked up._

"_The immediate neighbours saw and heard nothing." Detective Ryan reported._

"_And of Gibson and Selkirk, what of them?"_

"_Gibson and Selkirk were not forthcoming with anything useful." Detective Ryan shrugged apologetically. "They still want in on the investigation."_

_The fair Detective Beckett shook her head. "Do you think we will get anything out of the rest of his team?"_

_Detective Ryan frowned and shrugged his shoulders in answer to her question. Suddenly his face brightened._

"_I have a friend who is high up in Vice who might be able to provide some information."_

"_Very well speak to him, see what he can tell us. But before you do that I want you to search the entire abode to see if you can find a likely murder weapon."_

"_You got it, boss."_

_The fair Detective Beckett glanced in the direction of the Minstrel, catching his eye, she motioned silently for him to follow her. She turned immediately and left the living room, heading outside. Richard the Minstrel duly followed her._

_They reached their waiting steeds and mounted up._

"_Pray tell, my dear detective where is it we are journeying to?" The Minstrel inquired unable to conceal his curiosity._

"_Tis for me to know, Minstrel and for you to follow." The fair Detective Beckett replied with a grin upon her face. She urged her steed into a slow gallop. Richard the Minstrel urged Derrick into a gallop to catch up with the fair detective._

_Their journey came to a halt a couple of blocks from the abode of the now deceased Sergeant Maloney. Enlightenment dawned upon the Minstrel as he dismounted from his steed and joined the fair Detective Beckett. They were standing before a grocer's shop. The Minstrel looked to the fair detective and gave her a nod of understanding._

"_We are about to audit the good wife's alibi." he said._

"_There is hope for you yet, Minstrel." The fair Detective Beckett replied. "Shall we?"_

"_Let's shall."_

_The grocer stood on a corner and was like countless other grocer shops to found in the town. Out the front were trays displaying fruits and vegetables for people to inspect before they purchased..._

_On entering the premises the fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel were greeted by a portly looking bald man dressed in a grey tunic, an old apron covered the tunic. _

_He smiled at the two arrivals._

"_Good day to you, how may I be of assistance?" The man said. _

_The fair Detective Beckett produced her shield and held it up for the man to see._

"_Investigator Kate Beckett New York Constabulary. I have some questions."_

"_Is it to do with Sergeant Maloney's murder?" the man asked._

_The fair detective raised a questioning eyebrow in the direction of the grocer._

"_News travels fast in this neighbourhood." The man said with a shrug of his shoulders. "And the gathering of so much of the constabulary down the street would arouse such curiosity. Nasty business."_

"_Pray tell was Mrs Maloney here this afternoon?"_

"_Indeed she was."_

"_And what time was she here?"_

_The man frowned as he thought. "I would say it would have been around two o'clock."_

"_How long was Mrs Maloney here?"_

"_Not very long, Mrs Maloney is not the very talkative type, a little shy and retiring she is."_

"_And what vegetarian comestibles did she purchase?" The Minstrel asked._

"_Some potatoes and carrots, oh and a quarter pound of unshelled peas." The man informed them. "I tried to convince her that some onions might go well with her roast lamb."_

"_So she told you she was cooking a roast lamb?" the fair detective said._

"_She wanted my opinion on what might go well with the roast."_

_The fair Detective Beckett thanked the man and headed out of the shop. On emerging from the shop she paused to retrieve her notepad and she made a note of the conversation she had with the grocer._

"_So that rules out the good wife." The Minstrel remarked._

"_It would appear so." The fair Detective Beckett agreed._

"_So what next?"_

"_Let us away to the station house."_

_Richard the Minstrel stood leaning his frame against the fair Detective Beckett's desk. His gaze was affixed upon the fair detective as she was filling in the Wall of Murder. At the moment the wall contained several sketches of the scene of the murder and the deceased, and a number of questions._

_The fair Detective Beckett finished writing upon the Wall of Murder and joined the Minstrel at the desk. She enfolded her arms across her chest and stared at the wall. The Minstrel turned his gaze to the fair detective. The look upon her fair face was one that he had come to know well. Her emerald eyes were seeking clues from the information upon the wall, clues that would lead them to the miscreant who had committed this heinous crime._

"_Tis little information on which to go on." The fair detective sighed._

_The Minstrel almost smiled upon hearing that. For many had been the times he himself had expressed aloud that very thought._

"_Fear not, tis only the beginning, the more we investigate, the closer we will be to uncovering the perpetrator of this foul deed." The Minstrel replied in a gentle tone of voice._

_The fair Detective Beckett turned to look upon the Minstrel. Her eyebrows rose to the ceiling much in surprise at having her words quoted back to her. The Minstrel graced her with a smile before he turned his gaze to look upon the Wall of Murder. _

_It was late in the evening when the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito returned to the squad room. The orderlies had lit the lamps around the room bathing the squad room in a warm orange light. The fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel had been theorising on the case._

"_Well met gentlemen." the fair Detective Beckett, her face anything but cheerful. "Tis pleasing that you have deigned to grace us with your presence finally."_

_The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito wore expressions of sheepishness upon their faces. They knew they were late in returning back to the squad room._

"_Pray tell what manner of calamity did transpire to delay your return?"_

"_We were on the point of taking leave from the scene of the crime..." Detective Ryan said._

"_Having completed our search of the abode and the canvas of the neighbours..." Detective Esposito added._

"_When the widow insisted that we remain and partake of the roast that she had been cooking." Detective Ryan said._

"_It would have been a shame for the widow to throw it out or feed it to the dogs." Detective Esposito offered. "So we feasted upon the roast lamb."_

_The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito looked at each other and then turned to look at the unimpressed fair detective and the amused Minstrel and shrugged their shoulders in unison._

"_And you thought not to return with some of the roast lamb for your colleagues?" Richard the Minstrel intoned mournfully, though an amused look had taken residence upon his face."For shame gentlemen."_

_The fair Detective Beckett spared the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito blushes by extracting from them the outcome of their canvas of the neighbourhood and the search of Sergeant Maloney's abode. The information they provided she affixed upon the Wall of Murder._

_As the hour grew late the fair Detective Beckett finally decided to take her leave for the day. Upon her orders the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito remained behind to complete their report on the day's events. The Minstrel bid the two downcast detectives with a grin and trotted to catch up with the fair Detective Beckett..."_

Castle paused in his story and looked at Kate. Her green eyes regarded him.

"Why did you stop?"

"We've come to a natural pause in the story." Castle explained.

A questioning eyebrow was cast in his direction.

Castle rose to his feet casting her a look of slight embarrassment.

"I have to go to the little boys room." He explained.

Kate smiled as she watched him scurry out of the office.

XXXXX

_**Th**_**oughts?**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Castle opened the front door to find Dr Lanie Parish filling the doorway. The petite medical examiner graced the author with a smile. She had her medical bag with her.

"Doctor Parish." Castle said returning her smile. He did not need to ask what she was doing here.

"Hey Castle."

Castle stepped aside to allow Lanie entrance into the loft.

"How's our girl doing?"

"Pretty good."

Castle motioned in the direction of his office.

"I was just about to make some sandwiches for lunch, would you like some?" Castle offered.

"That would be great, thanks."

"Anything in particular, you'd like?"

"Why don't you surprise me?"

Castle grinned and nodded his head as he head for he kitchen to fix lunch leaving Lanie to pay a visit to the patient sitting in Castle's office.

XXX

Castle arrived in the office carrying a tray with a plate heaped full of sandwiches. He found Kate and Lanie sitting on the couch. He had taken his time making lunch to allow the two friends time to talk. It did not escape his notice that the moment he entered his office Kate and Lanie stopped talking. He also saw that Kate had a small smile on her face.

"Castle you have enough food to feed any army." Lanie observed.

"You did say, surprise you." Castle replied as he set the tray on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

Katie looked across to her friend and rolled her eyes. Lanie grinned back at her. Castle dashed out of the office only return a moment later with another tray with three glasses and a jug of orange juice.

After placing the second tray on the coffee table Castle took his place on the floor beside Kate. He motioned to the women to start eating. Lanie reached over and picked up a plate and selected several sandwiches placing them on the plate. As she settled back on the couch she held the plate out to Kate. Kate knew better than to decline the offered food so she picked up one of the sanwiches.

"Castle was about to resume the story he has been telling." Kate said before she bit into the sandwich.

Lanie's face lit up. She had remembered listening to him when he had been telling that other story to Kate back in the hospital.

Castle smiled and waited as the women started on their sandwiches before he got ready to resume his story. He was pleased to see Kate attack her sandwich eagerly.

"_...We now return to our story to find that it is the morning after the day before. The fair Detective Beckett was all ready in the squad room standing before the Wall of Death. The squad room was all but empty as the early morning sun came filtering through the windows. An orderly or two moved about the squad room sweeping the floor and emptying out bins of refuse from beside each desk, __making ready the room for when most of the investigators arrived to begin another day of sleuthing and crime fighting. The orderlies were especially circumspect around the fair Detective Beckett, they knew full well that she was one of the few investigators who would arrive early and depart late when working a case. They did not wish to disturb her concentration._

_The fair detective was studying the Wall of Death with an intensity. All ready she had affixed upon it more information from the reports that she had found on her desk awaiting her arrival. So far there had been few clues to follow up, no leads in which to chase down and that was something which she did not like. She continued to gaze upon the wall seeking out that clue which may lead her to the solving of the case._

_The fair detective did not need to be informed that this case was important. It always was when one of their own was dispatched in such a heinous manner. She also knew that there would be eyes from upon high watching her and her team to see what they would do._

_Richard the Minstrel made his appearance in the squad room. On this morning his arrival was made without the usual theatrical flourish. There were a couple of reasons that his entrance was more sedate. One was that it was still early in the morning and the squad room was empty of an audience so a dramatic entrance would be indeed wasted. And the other reason, he was assisting on a case, and theatrics would not be appreciated by the woman standing before the Wall of Death._

_An amused countenance settled upon his face as he espied the fair Detective Beckett in a familiar pose. One hand was draped across her chest with her other hand propping up her chin. He did not need to see her face to know that her delightful eyes would be darting here and there across the Wall of Death studying the information that it contained._

_The Minstrel approached the fair detective quietly wanting not to disturb her concentration yet as he neared her, the fair Detective Beckett silently turned to look at him._

"_Good morrow, my dear detective, how does thee fare this day?" The Minstrel said in a jovial tone of voice as he held out the fair detective's morning coffee._

_The fair Detective Beckett answered not the Minstrel's question but favoured him with a small smile of greeting and of thanks as she took from him the offered cup. Her fingers lingered a moment and maybe more upon his before drawing the cup from his grasp. The Minstrel could not help but smile. This too, he had noticed in recent times, had become a part of their morning coffee ritual, the lingering of fingers before the cup was exchanged._

_The fair detective turned her attention to the Wall. She brought the cup to her lips and from the cup took a long sip. Her eyes closed momentarily as she savoured the taste, welcoming it as a good friend. For the life of her she had no idea how the Minstrel managed to know how she would like her coffee each morning. Yet every morning he would present her with a cup of coffee prepared exactly the way she craved it. Some mornings she would hunger for her caffeinated beverage to be simply black, while other mornings she craved her beverage with a frothy milky addition. And there would be some mornings when she wanted something more elaborate. Lo and behold what she silently wished would be presented to her upon his arrival. It was one of the mysteries of life she would never fathom, she concluded. But grateful all the same._

_The Minstrel perched himself against the fair detective's desk with little space between them. His gaze too was now upon the Wall of Death._

"_How goes our case, my dear detective?" He inquired._

_For a moment and maybe more the fair detective did not answer. Then she let out a sigh before she took another sip of her cup of coffee._

"_At this moment in time we have nothing, no clue, nothing." The fair Detective Beckett said. "Your theory of an evil mage is looking good."_

"_Really?" The Minstrel was passing astonished to hear those words come from the fair detective's lips._

_The fair Detective Beckett turned to look upon the still surprised looking Minstrel. Richard the Minstrel saw the amused glint in those emerald eyes that held his gaze. Slowly understanding banished his astonishment._

"_Oh, I see." He said, a smile spreading across his face. "Jocularity from you my dear detective?"_

_The fair detective hid her smile behind her cup._

"_Tis so easy to have sport with you, Minstrel." The fair detective remarked._

_With a smile firmly in place upon his ruggedly handsome visage, the minstrel bowed his head gracefully._

"_It pleases me, my dear detective to provide you with amusement."_

_Soon both the fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel were discussing the information that was contained upon the Wall of Death. They passed back and forth theories and ideas. And so intent were they in doing this they barely took notice that the squad room had filled up with investigators and orderlies._

"_Did Sergeant Maloney have money problems?" Richard the Minstrel ventured._

_The fair Detective Beckett shrugged her shoulders. _

"_Mayhap he might have owed someone a fair amount off coin and was not in a position to repay it when the creditor came a calling to collect?"_

_The fair detective's brow furrowed as she thought on the Minstrel's suggestion. She gave him a nod of her head before she turned and affixed her gaze upon the steadfast Detective Esposito, who was seated at his desk finishing up his report from his canvassing of the neighbourhood of the day before. _

"_Esposito, acquire Sergeant Maloney's financial records." The fair Detective Beckett said. "Also have words with members of his team."_

"_To see if he had problems with money?" Detective Esposito asked. He had heard the suggestion made by the Minstrel._

"_Amongst other things." The fair detective responded._

_The steadfast Detective Esposito rose to his feet ready to leave._

"_And remind them in no uncertain terms that any stonewalling will ensure that they will have to answer questions from our colleagues in Internal Affairs." The fair detective added._

"_It shall be done, boss." The steadfast Detective Esposito wore a stern looking visage upon his face as he marched out of the squad room._

_With the steadfast Detective Esposito sent on his errand the fair detective and the Minstrel sat themselves at their allotted stations at the fair detective's desk. The Minstrel amused himself with picking up the report from the constabulary physician and perusing it._

_It was not long before the steadfast Detective Ryan made his appearance in the squad room. He carried with him a file close to his chest as he marched over to the fair Detective Beckett's desk. The fair detective looked up from her work. The Minstrel set aside the report he was perusing._

"_Pray tell what information did you glean from your informant?" The fair Detective Beckett inquired._

"_It appears that the good sergeant was not pure as the driven snow." Detective Ryan announced._

"_Oh do tell." The Minstrel said with no little excitement._

_On a nod from the fair detective the steadfast Detective Ryan proceeded to speak further._

"_The good sergeant had a piece on the side."_

"_Really?" The Minstrel said, his eyebrows rising skyward. "Curiouser and curiouser..."_

"_Minstrel pray contain your exuberance." The fair Detective Beckett chided, gently._

"_Sergeant Maloney had been conducting a liaison with a lady of shady repute." The steadfast Detective Ryan informed them._

"_For around half a year, mayhap longer." He added._

"_And does this doxy have a name?"The fair detective asked._

_Detective Ryan grinned at his audience as he opened the file that he had in his hand and he turned it around to present it to the fair detective for her inspection. The Minstrel overcome with a bout of curiosity rose from his chair and peered over the fair detective's shoulder. A smile lit upon his face as he read the name of the said doxy._

"_Miss Kitty Canary." He intoned, amused._

_The fair Detective Beckett was assailed by his manly fragrance that sent a flutter through her stomach. As much as she appreciated the understated scent of sandalwood that enveloped her, she had work to do. She slowly turned her head a little so that she could look upon the Minstrel. She fixed him with a look that wiped the amused countenance from his face and had him returning to his seat quick smart. She gave a curt nod of her head before turning her attention to the file that she held in her hands._

_The file of Miss Kitty Canary made for interesting reading, the fair detective observed. The said lady had a string of convictions for misdemeanours and other crimes that one could describe as long as your arm. They were mainly for solicitation and such related crimes. What the fair detective found of great interest was there were no charges or convictions in the past six months. Curiouser and curiouser as the Minstrel would vocalise, the fair detective mused silently to herself._

"_And where do we find Miss Kitty?" The fair Detective Beckett inquired aloud of Detective Ryan._

_The fair detective handed over the file into the Minstrel's eager hands and accepted the sheet of paper on which the steadfast Detective Ryan had scribbled the location where the lady in question could be located. The fair Detective Beckett perused the address and nodded her thanks to Detective Ryan._

"_Come Minstrel, let us away."The fair Detective Beckett commanded as she rose to her feet._

"_A field journey?" Richard the Minstrel said excitedly. He jumped to his feet and returned to the file to Detective Ryan. "Lead on, my dear detective."_

_As the fair Detective Beckett strode purposefully from the squad room, with the Minstrel bouncing about at her heel doing a very good impression of an excitable puppy, she could not help but feel that he seemed too overly excited about this impending visit._

_The journey to the warehouse district took a little longer than it normally would. The road the fair Detective Beckett had chosen for their journey was the quickest and most direct route usually. However the fair Detective Beckett and her companion Richard the Minstrel had come upon an intersection where a major traffic accident had occurred. Two speeding wagons had collied in the middle of the intersection sending produce and cargo, not to mention bullocks and oxen in all directions thus blocking the road for many an hour. The fair Detective Beckett had paused in their ride to ensure that everyone was all right. A pair of uniformed constables were all ready on the scene and dealing with the aftermath of the collision. Upon seeing that the matter was well in hand the fair detective wheeled her mount about and set off in an other direction. The Minstrel close at her heels as was his want._

_The fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel now found themselves in the cobblestone courtyard before a dilapidated two story red brick building. The building had once been used as a warehouse for a market gardener but he had gone out of business and the warehouse had fallen into some disuse. That was not case now as the tethered horses around the courtyard and carriages attested._

_The fair detective dismounted and tethered her horse to the nearest hitching post. The Minstrel did the same and hurriedly ran to catch up with her as she approached the door where a burly looking man stood guard. The Minstrel espied the sign above the doorway, and it brought forth a smile grin upon his face. 'Kitty Canary's Burlesque Review'._

_The door guardian shifted his muscled bulk to stand in front of the door. He held up a hand._

"_Members only." He growled._

_The fair Detective Beckett stopped. It was not the kind of welcome she had envisaged, though she had not expected for the man to bow and scrape as he opened the door for her. She glanced over to the Minstrel and saw the look of amusement dancing in his cerulean eyes. The fair detective turned her attention upon the door guardian._

"_I'm sorry miss, sir, this is a members only establishment."_

_The fair detective nodded her head but made no move to turn and depart from this scene. Suddenly in her left hand she held her shield. She held it out to the door guardian, barely inches from his eyes so that the man was left in no uncertain terms._

"_All area access pass." The fair Detective Beckett intoned in a voice that brooked no discussion. "Stand aside."_

_The burly door guardian was no intellectual giant. Until he had gotten this job standing before this door, he had spent most of his life earning a living in the fighting pits using his fists and having his head and body used a punching bag. All the same there was still some brain matter undamaged remaining in his cranium to let him know that it would not be healthy to tangle with this member of the constabulary. A smile appeared on his rounded and scarred face, revealing several missing teeth._

"_Welcome my lady, welcome to Kitty Canary's Burlesque Review." He announced in a more solicitous tone of voice. _

_The door guardian bowed his head as he stepped aide. He pushed open the door to allow the fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel entrance._

_They found themselves in a darkened lobby bare of any articles of furniture or any decoration. Illumination was provided by several torches secured high on the walls. Directly in front of them a short distance away was a pair of double doors from which emanated music and the usual hubbub of a gathered crowd. _

"_'All areas access pass, stand aside.' I shall be including that in my book, my dear detective, be sure of that." The Minstrel said with a chuckle._

_The fair Detective Beckett deigned to cast a look in the direction of the amused Minstrel. She rolled her eyes and shook her head in comment to his remark._

_They moved through lobby towards a double door where music was coming from. The Minstrel moved ahead of her to reach the doors first and pushed one open to allow the fair detective through. He followed her and came to a halt as his wide eyes took in the scene that unfolded before him. His mouth dropped open as he stared this way and that, trying to take everything in._

_The fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel found themselves in a wide expanse of a room that was decorated in a way that harked back to the days of the Roman Empire. The colours red, purple and gold predominated. Serving girls dressed in almost diaphanous and scandalously short dresses flittered about carrying trays of wine cups delivering them to waiting patrons who reclined on couches. Performers glided about juggling numerous balls or other items to patrons' amusement. All around the room were raised platforms and upon the platforms there were young ladies who danced to the music that was being played by a gaggle of troubadours. As the ladies danced they would remove articles of clothing every now and then much to the delight of those patrons watching. A large raised stage ran from the back of the room to end in the middle of the room but there were no performers on the main stage. And though it was early in the day there were more than a few patrons in the establishment._

"_This place! It's like the circus but only with alcohol...lots of alcohol." The Minstrel exclaimed. "How is it I have never been here before?"_

_The fair detective cast an amused look in the Minstrel's direction. "If you think this is wild, you should see some of the clubs I have visited." The fair Detective Beckett replied._

"_Oh do tell, my dear detective, I'm all ears." The Minstrel moved closer to the fair detective ever eager to hear from her lips tales of previous escapades._

_Alas the fair Detective Beckett smiled at the Minstrel and remained tight lipped. There was a time and place for such tales but this was not the time nor the place for such tale telling. The fair detective espied the location of the bar and proceeded towards it. The Minstrel followed._

_Upon reaching the bar, the barman, a tall and athletic man, dressed in a rustic coloured tunic that came to a halt at his well muscled thighs and whose face was covered in makeup, his eyes lined with kohl, moved from where he stood and greeted them with a beaming smile._

"_Well met my lady, good sir." He said cheerfully. " What shall I get for you?"_

_The fair detective held up her shield for the barman to see. The smile upon his face faltered a little on seeing a representative from the constabulary was standing before him. The barman nodded his head._

"_I would see the proprietor of this establishment." The fair Detective Beckett commanded._

_The fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel were seated upon a couch in a room that served as an office. It was a small room with a desk at one end that was covered in sheaves of papers, invoices and statements that an establishment such this would accumulate on a day to day basis. On the walls of the room were murals depicting scenes from the days of the Roman Empire. On one wall burly looking gladiators did battle with each other in the middle of an arena. On another wall there was a dinner scene in some imperial palace with guests reclining on couches being served by slave girls. And all around there little statues of Roman gods and goddesses._

_The Minstrel took in the entire room. The décor he found more than a little ostentatious for his taste but he refrained from putting to voice his judgement._

_The door to the room opened and a tall blonde haired woman swept in. She was dressed in a robe of scarlet silk and she moved with the grace of a dancer. Her face was heavily made up with kohl lining her eyes emphasising the blue of her her eyes. Her lips were coated in a shade of red that matched the colour of her robe and her cheeks were dusted in red rouge. Her unadorned blonde hair cascaded past her shoulders._

_The Minstrel could not help but smile as the woman approached, even without the heavy layer of makeup he deduced that she was an attractive woman._

"_You wished to see me, detectives?" Kitty Canary announced as she reached where the fair detective and the Minstrel were seated._

"_Yes." The fair Detective Beckett replied, bothering not to correct the woman._

"_How may I be of assistance?" Kitty inquired as she took her seat in a chair opposite the couch._

"_Do you know Patrick Maloney?"_

_The smile on Kitty's face faded and her face crumbled, tears threatened to appear but she held them back._

"_I heard tell that poor Patrick was killed." Kitty said in a quiet voice. "Who would do such an evil thing?"_

"_How well did you know Sergeant Maloney?" The fair detective asked, ignoring the other woman's question._

"_Well enough."_

"_In the biblical sense?" The Minstrel ventured._

_Kitty slid her eyes in the Minstrel's direction. She allowed a small smile to appear on her painted lips. She nodded her head._

"_Patrick and I were in a relationship that involved considerable coupling."_

_For many minutes and maybe more Kitty Canary answered the questions posed to her by the fair Detective Beckett. The tale she told was one of numerous and secret liaisons, they had first met years ago when Sergeant Maloney was a young investigator and newly transferred to the vice squad and he had arrested her for indecent exposure following one her exotic dance performances at some club. She told that over the years their paths had crossed in one way or another, sometimes he would arrest her and other times he would turn a blind eye. It was only about six months back that their relationship had moved to another level. The Minstrel had to bite down upon his tongue to stop himself voicing the remark if the relationship had reached a horizontal level._

_Kitty could provide not any information as to anyone who might want to harm the sergeant, and no he had never made mention of any threats to his life._

_The fair Detective Beckett wound up the interview. She rose to her feet thanking Kitty for her time. Richard the Minstrel also got to his feet. He looked to Kitty._

"_Pray tell Miss Kitty, did Sergeant Maloney ever ask that you give up your life as you know it, to go away with him?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett cast the Minstrel a curious look but the Minstrel fixed his gaze upon the woman still seated on the chair. Kitty smiled up at the Minstrel._

"_If I had a silver dollar for every time a man begged me to run a away with them, or heard them promise to leave their wives in order to marry me I would have retired a very, very rich woman long ago." _

"_And did the good sergeant speak of leaving his wife?"_

_Kitty nodded her head._

"_When did he speak of that?" The fair Detective Beckett questioned._

"_T'wood have been a week ago mayhap a little longer." Kitty replied with a heavy sigh. "He told of not loving her any more, that he could not stand her and wanted to leave the marriage."_

"_Did you believe him?"_

"_He said it in all seriousness, detective but..." Kitty shrugged her shoulders as if to say that she had heard those words all before._

"_Thank you for your time."_

_The fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel departed from the room and their way back to the main room of the club. The fair detective was making her way for the exit but had gone only a few steps when she came to realise that her partner was not alongside her. The Minstrel's attention was focused on a dancer gyrating upon a raised platform. He had a silly look upon his face as he watched the dancer. The fair detective shook her head before marching over to where the Minstrel was standing._

"_Let us away Minstrel."The fair detective said._

_The Minstrel did not hear the words the fair detective spoke, his attention still focused on the dancer. The fair detective reached out and tweaked the Minstrel's ear. The Minstrel all of a sudden gave the fair Detective Beckett his immediate and undivided attention._

"_Work first, play later, Minstrel." The fair detective informed him._

"_Apples...apples..." The Minstrel squeaked, his head at an awkward angle as the fair detective had yet to release her hold on his ear._

_Richard the Minstrel had to suffer the indignity of being led from Miss Kitty Canary's Review by the fair Detective Beckett with her hand firmly attached to his ear. It would not have been so bad but he suffered the further indignity of having laughter directed at him from those patrons who witnessed his undignified departure, and from the sounds of it nearly everyone saw him depart..."_

"Speaking of departing..." Lanie announced suddenly, her eyes checking her watch. "I have to get going or I'll be late for work. The petite medical examiner leaned over and kissed Kate on the cheek. She rose from the couch.

"Do you really have to go so soon?" Castle said. He had gotten to his feet.

"Yeah I have to."

"You could call in sick?" He suggested.

"As much fun as it would be to sit and listen to more of your story, I do have to go."

Lanie looked down at Kate and gave her a smile.

"I'll come around tomorrow, and change your bandages, okay?"

Kate smiled and nodded her head. "Thanks for dropping by, Lanie."

Castle escorted the doctor to the front door. Lanie cast a glance in the direction of the office from which had come from before turning her attention to Castle.

"Keep doing what you're doing Castle."

"I will." Castle smiled.

"See you tomorrow, Writer Boy."

Castle poked his head out the door.

"That's Writer Man, doctor, Writer Man."

Lanie's laughter followed her into the elevator.

XXXXX


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kate blinked opened her eyes. As her eyes slowly came into focus she realised that she was laying on the couch in Castle's office. A blanket had been draped over her. A smile came to her face. She did not have to think long and hard to know who had put the blanket over her.

Her ears picked up the sound of the rapid soft tapping of keys on a laptop. Turning her head she found Castle sitting at his desk busy typing away. His face was a mask of concentration. He stopped typing and his eyes rose from the screen. A smile broke across his face when he saw that she was awake.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty, good nap?" He asked.

"How long have I been asleep?" Kate said.

"Not long. A couple of hours." Castle replied. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm good, thanks."

Castle resumed typing trying to finish what he was writing. Kate slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. She heard him stop typing and looked across to him. Castle looked hesitant, debating with himself whether he should come over and help her or let her do it on her own. Kate gave him a small shake of her head, silently telling him that she could get up without his help. Castle remained seated but the concern on his face was evident as he watched her.

Kate sat back against the couch and pulled the hair away from her face. Castle started typing again.

She watched him as he worked and found it fascinating. She could not help the small smile that came to her lips when she saw a smile appear on his face when he finished his typing. He saved the page and then closed the laptop. He looked up to find her Kate looking at him. He rose from his chair and slowly came around from the desk.

Alexis arrived home and finding no one in the living room immediately came into the office. Her face broke into a smile when she saw her father and Detective Beckett.

"Dad are you annoying Kate?" Alexis said as she walked up to her father.

"Never!" Castle declared as he hugged his daughter.

"All the time." Kate said good naturedly.

"I'm deeply wounded by that remark, my dear detective." Castle cast a pained expression in Kate's direction.

"I'm sure you'll get over it, dad." Alexis said with a grin. She extracted herself from her father and moved to the couch and sat down beside Kate.

"Actually, your father was about to resume telling his story." Kate announced. She turned to look at Castle and raised her eyebrow at him.

Castle smiled back at her and nodded his head. He came over and sat himself down on the floor beside Kate's legs.

"Now where were we..." He mused aloud. "Ah yes."

... "O_nce more we return to our story and find that with the coming of the sun and the beginning of another day, the fair Detective Beckett is to be found standing before the Wall of Death gazing upon it once more, reviewing the information that it displayed. Richard the Minstrel was seated in his usual chair gazing upon the fair detective who was gazing upon the Wall. The steadfast Detectives Esposito and Ryan were at their desks reviewing notes from interviews they had conducted._

_Sir Roy the Sheriff made his entrance in the squad room. He bore an unhappy countenance as was usually the case when he returned from Constabulary Head Quarters and meetings with his superiors. This day's meeting was more dispiriting than normal. Instead of making his way to his office he approached the fair Detective Beckett._

"_What news, Detective?" Sir Roy inquired. "My superiors will have news from me as to the state of this investigation."_

"_There is nothing new to tell, sir." The fair Detective Beckett replied. "Leads we have but few."_

"_The good sergeant was engaged in a liaison with a lady ill repute." Detective Ryan added, as he and his partner Esposito rose from their desks and joined the fair Detective Beckett._

"_Pray tell, does anyone here know who caused the demise of Sergeant Maloney?" Sir Roy implored._

"_I know who murdered Sergeant Maloney." Richard the Minstrel piped up from where he sat._

_Four sets of eyes turned to face him. There was a mixture of surprise and exasperation in those pairs of eyes._

"_And pray tell us who is the perpetrator of this dastardly crime?" The fair detective replied._

"_The good wife did it." The Minstrel declared simply, a confident smile upon his ruggedly handsome face._

"_Is this not a variation on your favourite theme, that the butler did it, Minstrel?" The fair Detective questioned, an eyebrow raised in his direction._

"_Did you not contend that an evil mage's hand was behind this dastardly deed?" Detective Esposito added, reminding the storyteller of the theory he had espoused the day before._

_The Minstrel looked to Detective Ryan expecting him to add his ha'penny's worth. Detective Ryan merely shrugged his shoulders as if to say he had nothing to add to this banter. The Minstrel returned his gaze to the fair Detective Beckett._

"_Mock all you like, my dear detective but I believe that the good wife Mary Maloney is our killer."_

"_What is the basis of your accusation, Minstrel?" Sir Roy demanded._

"_Let me begin this tale with what a famous amateur criminologist once espoused: once you eliminate the impossible whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." The Minstrel intoned in a voice he used often at his storytelling gatherings._

_The fair Detective Beckett stared at the Minstrel for a moment and maybe more. There was an eagerness upon his face that at any other time she would have described as adorable. However they were standing in the squad room of the twelfth station house. Despite he better judgement she would allow him to speak._

"_Let us hear your tale, Minstrel." The fair detective said with a sigh, and fearing the worst._

_Richard the Minstrel gave the fair Detective Beckett a smile and a nod of his head before he spoke._

"_Let us say, for the sake of this tale that I will unfold, that the good Sergeant Maloney was not happy in his marriage. Mayhap he felt that he had erred in marrying Mary. Mayhap he had been in love with her at one time, deeply in love but was no longer. Whatever the reasons, he was not happy."_

_Richard the Minstrel paused. His eyes went from the fair Detective Beckett to Sir Roy to the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito before returning to the fair detective. He could see the eagerness in their eyes. It was a look that he was well familiar with. He had seen it countless times on the faces of numberless audiences he had performed before. And though his present audience was few in number they were still an audience and he would give them a performance that befitted his stature and did justice to the theory that he had formulated upon awaking with the coming of the dawn. He rose gracefully from his chair and made his way to stand before the Wall of Murder. He smiled at his audience as he resumed his story._

" _And being unhappy with the woman he had married, his eyes soon turned to wandering. Working in the Vice squad it would have brought him into contact with all manner of women. Exciting women, beautiful women, alluring women. Women who could be a little dangerous. Women that were fun to be around. Women who made him feel more alive...women so unlike his good wife._

"_And let us say that one fine day he meets a woman who is everything that his good wife is not. Miss Kitty Canary is beautiful and exciting, and exotic, everything that Mary Maloney is not. And also as we have learned the good sergeant and Miss Canary's paths had crossed in the past during the course of his work. _

"_Then one day the good sergeant decides to act upon his desires for this beautiful woman. At first it is an illicit meeting, a meaningless roll in the hay if you will. Wham, bam, thank you my lady, I'll be on my way. Alas he can leave it at that. One illicit meeting leads to another and then another. Sergeant Maloney finds that he is drawn to Miss Canary. Mayhap he falls in love with her. Mayhap he confesses to her about his troubles at home or not. It does not matter all the same."_

_The Minstrel paused a moment and looked at his audience and smiled to himself. His words had drawn them in with that seductive tone he used._

"_Soon the good sergeant finds excuses to stay back late, not to work, oh no, but to pay visit to this woman who graces him with her favours. His luncheon breaks take longer than the normal hour. His colleagues are not blind to what is unfolding and being his bothers in the blue they are content to avert their eyes. Soon they cover for him should anyone make inquiry as to his whereabouts._

"_These illicit liaisons grow more in frequency and very soon the good sergeant comes to the realisation he can not live without Miss Canary. But what to do? He is a married man after all. But what to do?_

"_Then one day, his good wife, Mary excitedly informs him that she is with child. He will soon be a father. Sergeant Maloney should be happy about this news, should be over the moon. He has always wanted a child, he has spoken of it countless times. Mary Maloney is more than pleased to be able to bear him the child he has always wanted, to fulfil her wifely duty._

"_Sergeant Maloney should be happy. Alas he is not. He no longer loves Mary, can barely stand to be in her presence any more. Their union is now but a sham. He feels like he is in a prison. He decides he can not go on like this, and comes to the decision that he will tell his good wife that he is leaving her. Their marriage is at an end."_

_The Minstrel paused in his tale to let his words sink in. He looks at the faces before him in turn and knows that he has them in the palm of his hand. His gaze settles upon the fair Detective Beckett. She watches him intently trying not to betray her thoughts. Yet her eyes, her emerald eyes are alight with interest. She would hear more of this tale. He gives her a smile before he resumes his tale._

"_He leaves work early one day and comes home to break the news to her. Mary is surprised to find her husband home early from work. It has never happened before that she can recall. All the same she is happy to see him and tells him so. As always she is solicitous to his needs but he brushes her off. What he once found endearing he now findds stifling._

"_He pours himself a goodly measure of wine and takes a long drink from his cup. He needs the wine to fortify his courage, to steel himself for what he is about to disclose. Mayhap he is not proud of what he is about to do but all the same he takes a deep breath and proceeds to inform his wife that he is going to leave her. Their union is over._

"_Mary Maloney can not believe her ears. At first she thinks he is having sport with her, pulling her leg. Her husband has been known to make jest with her in the past. Yet looking upon his face she sees that her husband is deadly serious. Her surprise turns to deathly shock as the enormity of his words fall upon her, like the blow of a hammer striking upon an anvil._

"_At first Mary has no words. For indeed what can she say. The life she thought that was happy and solid as a rock and which would last forever and a day was based on nothing but sand. But soon she finds her voice. Like any woman scorned, she finds her voice._

"_They fight, they shout. They say words that inflict deep wounds." The Minstrel said his voice rising with drama. "They say words that they can never be taken back. She implores him to think about what will become of her. She implores him to think about their unborn child. She cries and having said all that there is to say, there is nothing more to say. Mary Maloney can dissuade her husband from the course of action he has chosen. From that he will not be moved._

"_Mary Maloney runs from the living room. She is stunned. She is numb from the news that the world she knew has just crumbled around her like a house of cards. The husband that she loved and cared for has decided to throw her aside for someone else. What is to become of her? What is to become of the child she carries and will soon bring forth into the world?_

"_Standing in the middle of the kitchen the ice cold numbness that has enveloped Mary suddenly melts away as a roiling, raging anger takes hold of her. No she will not be pushed aside for some floozy, she tells herself. She will not be discarded like old newspaper, oh no. No way._

"_So Mary looks for a weapon, a knife is too messy. But then she espies the leg of lamb that is sitting on the table. She was going to prepare it for her husband for his diner. She picks up the leg of lamb finds its weight comforting, assuring. She walks out of the kitchen._

"_Sergeant Maloney is sitting in his favourite chair, a glass of wine in his hand. Mary Maloney skulks behind him, she moves stealthily, silently. Coming to stand behind his chair. Mary swings the leg of lamb. The anger of her betrayal has given her the strength of ten women. The leg of lamb makes contact with the back of Sergeant Maloney's head. There is a sickening crack of bone. The force of the blow propels the sergeant out of the chair and he lands face down in front of the hearth. He lies there unconscious._

"_Mary comes up to him and finds that the sergeant is still breathing. This will not do she thinks to herself. So she brings down the leg of lamb down on the back of his head not once but twice. Sergeant Maloney breathes no more."_

_The Minstrel paused once more letting the drama of his words that painted the scene for his audience to sink in. He sees in the eyes of the three men standing before him a mixture of emotions. Shock, surprise, horror. He looks to the fair detective and finds amusement dancing in her eyes. _

_He looks to the fair detective and finds amusement dancing in her eyes. She nods her head ever so slightly urging him to continue his tale. The Minstrel is ever so happy to oblige her._

"_With the deed done Mary finds that she is holding the murder weapon. Being the wife of a member of the constabulary she knows well the procedures of the constabulary. She has to rid herself of the murder weapon. She can not throw it away with the refuse for the investigators that will shortly descend upon her abode will find it and question her as to why she would dispose of a perfectly good piece of meat. But what to do? She returns to the kitchen and in that moment an idea comes to her. She puts the leg of lamb into a tray and lights up the oven and puts the tray in there to cook._

"_She leaves the house and ventures to the grocer to buy some vegetables, telling the grocer that her husband had come home from work early. Leaving the grocer with her purchases she returns home where lo and behold she discovers her dear husband laying dead on the floor in the living room. She sends for the constabulary._

"_The constabulary duly arrive and not long after one the city's finest investigators is on the scene. Mary Maloney, bereaved widow endures the questions directed to her, performs her role like an accomplished player upon the stage._

"_After a long tiring afternoon and evening most of the assembled constabulary have taken their leave of the abode. However there a still one or two members of the constabulary still present. The bereaved widow insists that the constables remaining should have the leg of lamb, it would be a shame to throw it away, it would be what her dearly and recently departed husband would have wanted. So the constables sit down at the kitchen table and partake of the delicious roast leg of lamb."_

_The Minstrel completes his tale. For a moment he is about to bow his head as he would do before a larger audience but he remembers in time that he was not before one of his storytelling audiences. He looks to the fair Detective Beckett in expectation. The amusement has gone from her emerald eyes. There now resides a look of determination._

"_Me thinks I'm going to be sick." Detective Ryan squeaked, suddenly turning a sickly shade of green._

"_Me too." Detective Esposito said putting a hand to his mouth._

_The fair Detective Beckett tried not to look all too impressed with the tale the Minstrel had spun as she turned away from the now beaming Minstrel and focused her gaze to the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito._

"_After you two have tossed your morning meals, go and collect Mary Maloney. I will have words with her." The fair Detective Beckett ordered._

_The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito nodded their heads before they scurried out of the squad room as fast as their legs could carry them._

_Sir Roy the Sheriff looked suitably impressed. It may not be the result that his superiors would like to hear tell but it was a result all the same. He said not a word but smiled and nodded his head before he made his way to his office. The Minstrel continued to beam as the fair detective looked at him._

"_Are you awaiting my approbation for your tale, Minstrel?" The fair Detective Beckett inquired as she sat down. The Minstrel returned to his own seat._

"_I am content to wait until we have Mary Maloney's confession and the case has been closed before I hear your gratitude for my assistance in solving this investigation, my dear detective." The Minstrel replied, his smile ever growing upon his face._

_The fair Detective Beckett rolled her eyes and shook her head at the Minstrel's response. However as she reached for a file and opened it, a small smile blossomed upon her lips._

_Within the hour the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito brought in the widow Mary Maloney to the squad room and deposited her in the interrogation room. Shortly after the fair Detective Beckett entered the interrogation room accompanied by the Minstrel. It did not take the fair detective long to bring forth from the widow's lips the confession. A question here and a question there and soon Mary Maloney told her tale how the demise of Sergeant Patrick Maloney came about by her own hand. _

"_My dear detective, now tis a good time to thank me." Richard the Minstrel whispered in the ear of the fair Detective Beckett as they departed from the interrogation room a written and signed confession safely clutched in her hand._

_The fair detective cast a glance in the direction of the smug looking Minstrel. A roll of her eyes only made the Minstrel smile even more._

"_My thanks, Minstrel." She intoned in a voice that was barely above a whisper._

"_You are welcome, my dear detective." the Minstrel chortled..._

"Castle, really?" Kate said as she stared at Castle. "Roald Dahl?"

Castle turned to look up at Kate. He flashed her a grin and offered a shrug of his shoulders in response.

"Don't worry about it, Kate." Alexis said, patting Kate's arm. "He tried to pass it off as an original story when he first told this story to me."

Kate turned to look at the young red head.

"And I believed him until one day I came across a collection of Dahl's short stories." Alexis added.

Castle laughed. "And then I suggested to her that it was a story idea that I gave him."

"Which would have been difficult considering Dahl published the story in 1953." Kate said turning back to look at Castle.

"It is the cross I have to bear, being surrounded by intelligent women." Castle sighed.

"Someone has to keep you on your toes, Castle." Kate smiled.

Castle rose to his feet and turned to look down at his two favourite ladies.

"Who's hungry for some Chinese?"

Both Alexis and Kate eagerly lifted their hands in answer to his question.

XXXXX

_**As always dear reader, your thoughts on this work would be appreciated greatly.**_

**Con **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kate settled into the bed and offered Castle a smile of thanks as he drew up the blanket. He was pleased to see that she had managed to get up the stairs under her own steam. He was right there beside her as the slowly progressed up the stairs ready to move in if she had faltered. The determined set of her face had told him that she was going to get up without his help.

Castle hovered over her and then planted a quick kiss on her forehead. He stared to straighten up.

"Don't I get a bed time story?" Kate asked.

Castle's eyebrows rose up a little.

"You should you get some sleep."

"I fell asleep during the movie, remember?"

"Yeah, I think I was there." Castle nodded his head. Kate had fallen asleep against him halfway through the movie they had been watching.

"So do I get a bed time story or not?" Kate challenged.

"Very well."

Castle made his way around to the other side of the bed and sat down on it.

"I want more of the tale of the Minstrel." Kate added.

"As you wish, my lady." Castle grinned.

Castle made himself comfortable. He rested his head against the headboard and turned a little so that he could watch Kate. Her green eyes held his gaze expectantly as she waited for him to begin.

_...Richard the Minstrel was in the thrall of a most delightful dream. A dream that left upon his ruggedly handsome visage a smile brighter than the brightest candle and warmer than the warmest day in summer. The subject of this nocturnal reverie was a certain fair detective. As much as he wanted to indulge in this most delightful of dreams for the longest time alas it was not to be. For there came a hurried and loud knocking upon the front door of his abode. The Minstrel was dragged from the fair Detective Beckett with the come hither look in her emerald eyes, leaving her standing by the edge of a lake._

_The bright smile vanished from the Minstrel's face as the knocking on the door registered upon him. He opened his eyes and with much grumbling and cursing left his bed to find who was darkening his door at such an ungodly hour of the morning._

_Flinging open the front door he glared at the knave who dared to disturb his slumbers. The Minstrel found that he was staring upon a dispatch orderly of the constabulary._

"_Your pardon good Minstrel." The orderly announced. "Your presence is requested at once."_

"_A murder most foul?" The Minstrel inquired sleepily._

"_Yes, sir."_

_A tremor of excitement bubbled through the body of the Minstrel. Gone in an instant were the last dregs of sleep. Gone as well were thoughts of doing harm to the dispatch orderly for having awoken him from his slumbers and dragged him from his dream._

"_Then lets us away, my good man, lead the way." The Minstrel intoned waving the man to lead._

_The orderly remained where he stood._

"_Your pardon good Minstrel, should you not at least change into more appropriate attire?"_

_The Minstrel looked down at himself to find that he was dressed in his favourite sleep attire, a shirt and trousers embroided with his favourite fairy tale characters, there was the Dark Knight with his mask and cape shaped in form of a bat's wings with his faithful companion in fighting miscreants, there was the Man of Steel in his colourful crime fighting costume with his underpants on the outside, and over there was another colourful character in a blue and red costume in the centre of a spider's web. The Minstrel looked up at the orderly._

"_Wait here, my good man, I shall return anon." The Minstrel announced as he vanished into his abode. _

_At about the same as the Minstrel was being roused from his nocturnal reverie, the fair Detective Beckett was awake and preparing to depart from her humble abode to the scene where the body had been discovered. The final part of her morning ritual was to place around her neck one of her most treasured keepsake, the ring that had belonged to her mother. She quickly tucked the necklace and ring underneath her shirt, then gathered up her weapon and her note book. She paused a moment and steeled herself for what was to come before she strode out of her humble abode. Mere moments later she was upon her trusty stead and riding to the scene where the body had been discovered._

_The fair Detective Beckett arrived upon the scene just as the first rays of the sun were slowly peaking above the horizon. There was still a chill in the air as she dismounted from her trusty stead, handing the reins to a uniformed constable. For a moment and maybe more the fair detective remained where she stood taking in her surrounds. She was standing in the courtyard of a building site, building materials were strewn haphazardly all over the place as was rubbish and discarded materials. Directly in front of her was a nearly completed warehouse. The constabulary physician's wagon was parked close to the entrance to the building, the fair detective noted. Several constables were herding the workers away from the building to the fence. _

_From within the entrance there came the steadfast Detective Esposito. He strode quickly to the fair detective. On reaching her he passed over the large cup of coffee. The fair Detective Beckett accepted the coffee with a grateful nod of her head. She had not had the time brew herself a cup before departing from her abode. She took a sip of the caffeinated brew and savoured it for a moment. _

"_Pray tell why they can not find bodies between nine and five?" The steadfast Detective Esposito grumbled._

_The fair Detective Beckett slide a glance in the direction of her companion._

"_The early bird gets the collar." The fair Detective Beckett quipped._

"_Tis true." The steadfast Detective Esposito chuckled._

_The fair Detective Beckett turned her attention in the direction of the large opening to the warehouse and was taken aback to espy Richard the Minstrel approaching. There was an excited expression upon his ruggedly handsome visage. _

"_He was here before I was." The steadfast Detective Esposito explained in answer to the raised eyebrow that the fair detective cast in his direction._

"_Good morrow, my dear detective." The Minstrel said, his smile growing. "You have arrived finally. You're are going to be enamoured of this."_

_Before the fair Detective Beckett had a chance to speak the Minstrel turned on his heals and headed back inside the warehouse, waving for her to follow. The fair Detective shook her head at the display of over exuberance at such an early hour of the morning but all the same she made to follow the Minstrel. The steadfast Detective Esposito right beside her._

_Approaching the crime scene the Minstrel, the fair Detective Beckett and Esposito had to push through a small gathering of construction workers who stood to watch the unfolding scene before __them. Their daily labours held in abeyance to alloy the constabulary to do their work. Not that they were complaining for it was not every day a body turns up and they get the morning off._

_The steadfast Detective Ryan stood before the construction workers._

"_The show's over fellas, this is an active crime scene." He said in a raised voice, waving them in the direction of the entrance. To a man the construction workers were reluctant to depart but slowly they began to shuffle away. "We appreciate your cooperation." Detective Ryan added as an afterthought. _

_The fair Detective Beckett approached where the body had been discovered. She came to a halt at the edge of a pit and peered down. The pit was ready to be filled in with concrete. To one side of the pit there were several mixing barrels and sacks of the materials for the making of concrete. The Constabulary Physician Dr Parish was in the pit standing beside a body that was laying face down across several iron bars. The body was in a linen sack with only the neck and head exposed. The body was that of a female._

"_Is it not capital?" The Minstrel remarked. "My first cold case."_

_The fair Detective Beckett was about to bring her cup of coffee to her lips but paused to look at the Minstrel who happened to have taken station right beside her. There was not a hint of amusement in those emerald orbs as they regarded him coolly._

"_Admit it, my dear detective, t'was a little amusing." He urged, smiling._

"_I think not, Minstrel."_

"_Truly you are no fun until you've had your coffee." Richard the Minstrel sighed._

"_That much is true."_

_The fair Detective Beckett brought up her cup to her lips to cover the smile that threatened to appear on her fair face. She turned her attention down to Dr Parish. The good doctor finished making a note on her clipboard before she looked up to the gathered detectives and Minstrel._

"_What can you tell me, Lanie?" The fair Detective Beckett asked._

"_The body has been well preserved." Reported Dr Parish._

"_Preserved?" The fair Detective said. "As in..."_

"_Uh-huh as in mummified." Dr Parish replied. "I can tell you more after I have her on my table. What I can report is that she has not been here for too long."_

_The fair Detective Beckett nodded her thanks to her friend and left her to get on with the work that a Constabulary Physician has to do at the scene of a murder. The fair Detective looked to the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito._

"_What about security?"_

"_A chain link fence." Said Detective Esposito._

"_A pair of bolt cutters took care of that." Added Detective Ryan. _

"_Is there not a watchman on duty?" The fair Detective Beckett questioned. When she had been in the courtyard surveying the surrounds she had espied a small hut near the entrance._

"_There was but as luck would have it, he had to answer a call of nature." Detective Ryan announced as he consulted his note pad. "And then he fell asleep."_

"_And what time was this?"_

"_About four o'clock." Detective Ryan said. "When he returned from his nap he noticed the hole in the fence and went to investigate but by then the workers were coming in ready to start the working day."_

_The fair detective nodded her head. She caught sight of the Minstrel with a thoughtful look upon his face. Sensing the fair detective's gaze upon him, Richard the Minstrel turned to look at her._

"_Is it not passing strange, one takes the trouble to preserve the body and then dumping it?" He __said. "We have two personality types at play here. A killer who preserves a body is a keeper. He wants a souvenir." He saw the fair detective nod her head. "But someone who dumps a body..."_

"_Does not want to be reminded of the crime." The fair Detective Beckett said, finishing the Minstrel's sentence. "Very well, Ryan interview the watchman again, Esposito have talk with the workers who first came upon the body. I'll go inspect the fence." The fair Detective ordered. The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito nodded their heads and moved off._

_The fair Detective Beckett was about to move off as well when she caught sight of an approaching technical orderly carrying with him a large sketch pad._

"_I want a good sketch of her face." The fair Detective Beckett ordered. The technical orderly duly nodded his head in understanding as he passed the fair detective and proceeded to the edge of the pit._

"_I want to run her face through Missing Persons." The fair Detective Beckett explained to the Minstrel as they made their way out of the nearly completed warehouse._

_Several hours later and mayhap a little more the determined detectives and Minstrel had completed their investigations and interviews at the scene of the crime at the nearly completed warehouse and had returned to the station house. Richard the Minstrel was seated at the table of the conference room studying a copy of the sketch of the murder victim that the technical orderly had drawn. A loud crash upon the table almost had the Minstrel jumping out of his seat. There before him was a six inch thick leather bound book which had been deposited on the table by the fair Detective Beckett in a most dramatic and heart stopping way._

"_There you have it, Minstrel the Constabulary's facial recognition database." The fair Detective Beckett announced waving at the large book before the Minstrel._

_The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito trooped into the room carrying each another large six inch leather bound book which they set on the table before they sat down._

"_Gadzooks!" The Minstrel exclaimed as he took in the books sitting on the table. "Do you mean to say we have to go through these ourselves?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett nodded her head in response to his question before she pulled out a chair beside the Minstrel and sat down._

"_Do you not have some wunderkind with exceptional memory at his disposal to do this?" The Minstrel inquired._

"_We had to let him go last year." The fair Detective Beckett replied. "Budget cuts."_

_Richard the Minstrel looked at the large book in front of him. A sober expression settled on his face._

"_There are a lot of missing persons." He said quietly._

"_One way or another, Minstrel we find them eventually." The fair detective said. "Some end up dead, some surface in a dive in Atlantic City with an exotic dancer called Trixie."_

"_And some just don't turn up." Detective Esposito said._

_The detective opened the book in front of him and turned several pages before he found the page he was seeking. He pulled out from a pocket a sketch of a young dark haired woman. He glanced at the picture before he passed it across to the Minstrel. The Minstrel studied the picture for a moment and maybe more before he read out the name on the bottom right hand corner of the picture._

"_Dana Sullivan."_

"_Indeed. She and her finance leave an upmarket tavern late one night." Detective Esposito said. It was obvious to all in the room that the detective had investigated the case. "The finance is but a few steps behind her as he has paused to exchange greetings with an acquaintance. She turns a corner just a few seconds before he does. And when he comes around the corner, she's gone. The street is totally empty. No traffic, no nothing. In the matter of a few feet she literally vanished."_

_Richard the Minstrel shook his head as he returned the picture._

"_People don't vanish off the face of the earth."_

"_Sure they do." Detective Ryan interjected. "Quantum physics, alien abductions. One minute you're getting a hot dog in the park, and the next you're fighting Daleks on the far side of the Delta Quadrant."_

"_I can't purchase that." The Minstrel shook his head again. "There's got to be an explanation. A story that makes sense."_

"_Verily you are the story spinner here, Minstrel." The fair Detective Beckett challenged. "What is our Jane Doe's story?" _

_The Minstrel turned his head to look at the fair detective. He was amused on seeing the challenge in her eyes. He allowed a small smile to reach his lips._

"_Well truth be told I know not how it starts, but I know how it ends." The Minstrel said. "Found mummified at a construction site. The question we must first ask is, how did she get there?"_

"_Considering she was mummified, she must have been kept pretty close by." Detective Ryan suggested._

"_Not necessarily." The Minstrel looked behind to the map of the Island of Manhattan and he pointed in the general direction of where the construction site was located. "Here is the location of the construction site. Her body might not have been close by as you might think. It takes a long time to mummify a body."_

_Three sets of eyebrows rose up in surprise at the Minstrel's last remark._

"_I hesitate to ask how you know that Minstrel." The fair detective said but the look on her face was of curiosity._

"_You mummify a body for one of your books, Minstrel?" Detective Ryan chuckled._

"_No." Richard the Minstrel said, drawing out the word. "I did however dwell in the Public Library for a day or two perusing some ancient texts researching the process."_

_Before any of the detectives had the opportunity to ask the Minstrel any further questions there came a discreet knock on the door of the conference room. A dispatch orderly entered and moved to the fair Detective Beckett. He handed to her a folded piece of paper. The fair detective accepted the missive with a nod of her head. The dispatch orderly turned on his heels and quickly marched out of the room._

_The fair detective unfolded the paper and read the message. Immediately she rose to her feet._

"_We must away Minstrel." She announced. "Lanie has identified the body."_

_The Minstrel did jump to his feet with alacrity at the fair detective's command. With a smile on his face he pushed the large leather bound book across the table in the direction of the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito._

"_You'll take care of these?" He said before he turned and raced to catch up with the fair Detective Beckett._

_Detective Esposito grabbed hold of the books and shoved them in the direction of Detective Ryan._

"_Hey, take care of these for me, Ryan." He said and then got to his feet and also departed from the room._

"_Oh sure, I'll take care of them, fear not." Detective Ryan muttered unhappily..._

Castle looked down and was not surprised to find Kate had fallen asleep sometime during the story. Her head was turned to him as if she was still listening even when she had fallen asleep. He could not help but smile at the sight of her upwardly curved lips. He was about to get up from the bed when he paused. Looking further down he saw that her hand had taken hold of his in a firm grip. He silently chuckled to himself. He had not realised she had taken his hand. Well so much for getting up, he thought to himself.

Castle made himself comfortable and gazed on her sleeping form. Kate Beckett gazing was one of his favourite past times.

XXXXX

_**Your thoughts on my latest effort would be truly welcome, Dear Reader.**_

_**Con **_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Richard Castle was in his study staring at the screen of his laptop. He had been trying to write but for the past hour or so but nothing had come to him. That was not exactly true, he had typed something but when he paused to read what he had written he found he had written nonsensical gibberish. He would delete the page and start over only delete his next effort. For the past half hour he had been staring at the blank page.

Try as he might he could not focus on working on his latest book. For the past couple of hours his body was in the study but his mind was elsewhere. Lanie Parish had come over to the loft as she had promised and to escort Kate to her doctor's appointment. Castle had wanted to go with them, he had begged, pleaded and even whined like a five year old to come along with them but the two women had steadfastly refused. Castle had even offered the use of his town car service but that offer was declined as Lanie had brought her car.

In the end he had acquiesced when Kate pulled him aside and told him that he needed to write and she needed some girl time with Lanie. He knew he could not refuse her. He could not refuse her anything. He felt a little better when Lanie assured him that she would look after 'our girl'.

Castle got up from the desk and walked to the middle of room and started to pace the floor. When he had not been trying to write, or staring at a blank page, the other thing he had been doing was pacing the floor.

On hearing the front door open Castle stopped pacing and flew out of the study. A wave of relief swept through him when he saw Kate shuffle into the loft with Lanie close beside her. Kate was dressed in one of his large t-shirts and a pair of sweat pants. Relief turned to concern when he saw the tiredness on her pale face.

"Hey Castle." Kate said with a weak smile.

"Hey, yourself."

It was all he could do not to walk up and help Kate over to the couch. Lanie had the matter in hand and the last thing he wanted to have happen was a tug of war between himself and the medical examiner.

"So how are you?" Castle asked.

"Getting better."

The writer nodded his head.

Kate eased herself down on the couch and leaned back. Lanie reached for the folded blanket that Castle had kept there and draped it over Kate. Kate nodded her thanks. Lanie stepped back.

"Our girl is healing nicely." Lanie informed him.

"Good to hear." Castle said. "Can I get you anything, ladies?"

"I'm fine." Lanie replied.

"Kate?"

"I'd kill for a coffee."

"One coffee coming right up."

Castle raced into the kitchen and fired up the coffee machine. He returned to the living room a few minutes later to find Lanie sitting beside Kate. He set the coffee mug on the small side table beside the couch within easy reach for her.

"So, Castle how about you tell us some more of your story?" Lanie asked.

Castle looked to Kate and saw her nodding her head. That brought a smile to his face, knowing that both women wanted to hear more of the story. He settled down on the far end of the couch and looked across to the two women gazing at him. He smiled even more as he resumed the story.

…

_We now return to our story to find... the fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel striding with purpose along the corridor towards the office of the Constabulary Physician. The fair Detective's booted heels striking the floor of the corridor made a harsh but steady drumbeat of a sound. They reached the double doors and the Minstrel skipped forward and pushed open of the doors to allow the fair detective first entry. He bowed and with a flourish of his free hand waved her through. The fair detective glanced at the Minstrel's act of chivalry and pushed open the other door and made entrance into Dr Parish's office. _

_Though his display of courtesy went unrewarded and unremarked, the Minstrel allowed a small smile to appear on his lips as he followed the fair detective. He would wear her down he told himself. He did not know when, he did not know how but certain he was that he would wear her down._

_Both the fair detective and the Minstrel found the office empty. The Minstrel was about to open his mouth to make speech but the fair Detective turned on her heels and walked over to another set of double doors and pushed them open. The Minstrel moved quickly to join her._

_The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel espied Dr Parish standing by a long table. She held in her hand a file. Upon the table was the body of the woman who had been discovered at the warehouse. To ensure that sensibilities were not offended a white shroud had been draped over the woman's body leaving only her head exposed._

"_Meet, Melanie Cavanaugh." Dr Parish announced. "Aged thirty-four at the time of death."_

"_And her cause of demise?" The fair Detective Beckett inquired._

_Dr Parish pointed the left side of the woman's head. "Blunt force trauma to the head."_

_Both the fair Detective and the Minstrel moved closer to the table to examine for themselves the location of the damage. The Minstrel could see that the side of the skull had been caved in noticeably by the forced of the blow. The fair Detective looked to Dr Parish._

"_Pray tell how did you obtain her identification so swiftly?"_

"_Her fingerprints were in the archives."_

"_And what did she do to have her prints stored for posterity?"_

"_Misdemeanour drug possession." Dr Parish informed them._

_The Minstrel continued to gaze upon the face of the dead woman._

"_She does not appear to be a user of illegal drugs." He observed aloud._

"_Indeed not." the good doctor agreed. "She's in pretty good condition considering. The lack of tissue degeneration, I would venture to speculate that she was stored in a place where the temperature rarely varied."_

"_Like a humidifier?" The Minstrel offered._

"_That would do." Dr Parish nodded her head._

_The Minstrel beamed at having guessed correctly. The fair Detective saw his beaming visage and rolled her eyes at him before turning her attention back to the her friend the doctor._

"_How long has she been dead?"_

"_Well, considering how long she has been like this,factoring decomposition, it would be my guess that she was probably mummified within twenty-four hours of being killed."_

_The fair Detective Beckett frowned. "What do you mean, 'how long she has been like this'?"_

_Dr Parish shrugged her shoulders as she passed over the file she had been holding in her hand to the fair Detective. _

"_According to the file, this woman has been missing for five years." Dr Parish informed her._

XXX

_The fair Detective Beckett was seated at her desk, open before her was Melanie Cavanaugh's file, the one that Dr Parish has passed to her. The Minstrel emerged from the break room and made for the fair Detective's desk he carried with him a freshly made cup of coffee._

"_Melanie had a troubled childhood, drug problems in her teens and twenties." The fair Detective observed as her eyes scanned the file._

"_I know." Replied the Minstrel as he sat himself down in the chair beside the fair Detective's desk._

_The fair Detective looked up from the file._

"_How do you know?"_

"_I read the file." The Minstrel replied, motioning to the file before the fair Detective. "She kicked the habit. Met and married Samuel Cavanaugh, she worked in a tavern and he managed a counting house. They have two offspring."_

_The fair Detective's eyes narrowed as she looked at the Minstrel._

"_Tell me Minstrel when did you read this file?"_

_The Minstrel grinned and was about to reply to the fair Detective when all of a sudden the fair Detective reached over and took from him the cup of coffee he had been holding ready to take a sip from it. The Minstrel watched as the fair Detective brought the cup to her lips and sipped from it. He espied the brief look of contentment that passed across her fair face as she savoured the dark liquid. He made ready to protest at the theft of his coffee but the words of protest died upon his tongue. The look upon her fair face, however brief it may have been was well worth the loss of his coffee._

"_I read the file while you were in the little girl's room." The Minstrel said in answer to her question._

"_I was gone but a moment." The fair Detective retorted._

"_Speed reader." The Minstrel beamed. "Something I acquired from my years stranded in the New York Public Library."_

_The fair Detective took another sip from the coffee and resumed reading the file. The Minstrel's smile grew a little bit as he watched her reading. He could remain silent no longer._

"_Would you like the Cliff Notes, my dear detective, or in this case the Minstrel notes?" The Minstrel offered._

_The fair Detective Beckett looked up and cast a glance in the Minstrel's direction. The glance included a sharply raised questioning eyebrow. "Tell me Minstrel, how do you know you did not let slip something of importance?"_

_The Minstrel sat back in his seat and held the emerald gaze of the fair Detective Beckett._

"_Like, after Melanie disappeared, her spouse waited a whole day before he went to the Constabulary?" He offered._

"_A day?" The fair Detective said. "That does not make sense."_

"_Until you get to the third paragraph. Before Melanie plighted her troth, she is what is now commonly referred to as a runaway bride."_

_The fair detective set down the cup of coffee she was holding and skimmed through the file._

"_According to her spouse, she ran away a whole two weeks before their wedding day." The fair Detective remarked._

"_Indeed. But she came back." The Minstrel said. "Three years happily ever after, she disappears again. Comes back. And no indication of where she went."_

"_Truly, she must have had reasons for running away."_

"_I judge her not, my dear detective. There are those who are enamoured of the institution but despise the day to day."_

_An amused smile appeared upon the face of the fair Detective as she looked across to the Minstrel._

"_Are you one of those people, Minstrel?" The fair Detective punctuated her question with raised eyebrows._

"_Alas, I have yet to meet the right girl." The Minstrel smiled a genuine smile in the fair Detective's direction. It amused him to see a blush blossom upon the fair Detective Beckett's cheeks. She was forced to look away suddenly feeling uncomfortable._

_Being the gentleman that he was Richard the Minstrel chose to spare the fair Detective Beckett further blushes by returning to the case they were discussing._

"_Therefore that is why Sam Cavanaugh did not call upon the offices of the Constabulary." The Minstrel said. "Because she had done it before. It seemed reasonable to the investigator at the time."_

"_There's no evidence of foul play, so the detective closed the case." The fair Detective Beckett said in a grim sounding tone of voice that the Minstrel had never heard before. The look upon her face was something he had never seen before either. "He just closed the case. Five years, and her husband thought she just ran away?" The fair Detective shook her head._

"_Verily, the time has come to inform Mr Cavanaugh that his runaway bride has finally come home." _

XXX

_The journey to the last known address of Sam Cavanaugh took the fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel a little over half an hour and mayhap a little more. The fair Detective found the location. It was a high rise apartment building. The apartment they were seeking was on the ninth floor of the building. The Minstrel grumbled a little at being forced to climb nine flights of stairs. The fair Detective merely rolled her eyes and moved up the stairs like some fleeted footed dispatch orderly. The Minstrel muttered and grumbled some more as he raced to catch up with her._

_On reaching the ninth floor the fair Detective moved along the hallway glancing at each door she passed. The Minstrel was her side wisely remaining silent lest he earn another roll of the eyes from the fair Detective. _

_The fair Detective came to a halt in front of the door marked **917.** Without preamble she rapped her knuckles upon the door and took a step back from the door. Both the fair Detective and the Minstrel heard noise from within the apartment._

"_Who is it?" Asked a voice from behind the door._

"_New York Constabulary." the Fair Detective Beckett announced._

_A moment later and maybe more the door of the apartment open to reveal a short rotund, balding man. He was aged in his late forties and was dressed in a long brown tunic that reached down to his knees. The man looked from the fair detective to the Minstrel standing beside her before returning his gaze to the fair Detective._

"_How may I be of help?" The man inquired, curiosity clouding his unshaven face._

_The fair Detective produced her badge and held it up for the man to see._

"_Detective Beckett." The fair Detective announced. "Are you Samuel Cavanaugh?"_

"_Who?" The man looked confused._

"_Samuel Cavanaugh. Our records indicate that he lives here."_

"_You must have the incorrect apartment."_

"_This is 917?"_

"_Indeed it is." The man said. "My name is Roger, not Sam."_

"_Do you know a Sam Cavanaugh?"_

"_No. What is this about detective?"_

"_Your pardon, Roger." The Minstrel interjected. "Pray tell how long have you resided in these lodgings?"_

"_Oh about eight months."_

_The Minstrel looked to the fair Detective and shrugged his shoulders. "Tis been five years, mayhap he has moved in that time?" He said. The fair detective nodded her head. Both the fair Detective and the Minstrel turned to the man named Roger when he spoke again._

"_Well, it pleases me not to be the bearer of bad news but if you are seeking the gentleman who resided here before me, he did not move."_

"_He didn't?" Said the fair Detective._

"_No." Roger said. "He was murdered."_

XXX

_The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel were sitting in their usual places at the fair Detective's desk. They had returned from the former residence of Sam Cavanaugh and the fair Detective was proceeding to write up the notes of the interview with the present resident of the lodgings. The Minstrel was amusing himself with completing the crossword puzzle he found in a discarded copy of the Daily Ledger. _

_The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito approached the fair Detective Beckett's desk._

"_Hey Boss." Detective Ryan called out._

_The fair Detective paused in her work and looked at the two arrivals. The Minstrel too paused in completing the crossword puzzle._

"_Samuel Cavanaugh was shot outside a grocery store about a year ago." Detective Esposito reported. "Small calibre crossbow bolts, double tap the chest. Wallet and valuables missing."_

"_Poor schmuck's wife disappears and four years later he slips off this mortal coil as a result of a mugging." Detective Ryan intoned and shook his head._

"_Indeed what would be the odds of that?" Detective Esposito added._

"_Long I would hazard." The Minstrel interjected. "Unless they're connected."_

_Detective Esposito turned to the Minstrel and looked at him._

"_Four years between murders? How could they be connected?" He asked._

"_Mayhap he and his wife delved into something they could not get out of?" The Minstrel offered up and shrugged his shoulders. "Mayhap it had something to do with a drug habit?"_

"_What, some miscreant waits four years to complete the job?" Detective Ryan said, dripping scepticism._

"_Perchance Sam finally figured out what befell his wife and was about to go the Constabulary?"_

"_Nay, I can not believe it." Detective Ryan shook his head._

_A smile leaped upon the Minstrel's face. His blue eyes sparkled. "Give me two hundred and fifty pages and I'll wager I could make you."_

_The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito chuckled at the Minstrel's last remark. The fair Detective Beckett rolled her eyes and shook her head._

"_We are trying to solve a murder, Minstrel not writing a book." She chided._

"_I could call it, A Chill Runs Through Her Veins." The Minstrel had warmed to the idea of a book based on the case. His smile broadened even more._

"_I like that title." Detective Esposito remarked._

"_Shazam said the lady, another best seller for me." The Minstrel declared happily, puffing out his chest feeling pleased with himself._

_The Minstrel's sudden excitement about a possible new novel earned him a roll of the fair Detective's eyes but he was not perturbed. For he saw the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. The fair Detective looked to the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito._

"_What became of the children?" She asked._

"_They are living with Melanie's parents in White Plains."_

"_It appears that I am travelling to White Plains." The fair Detective announced as she rose to her feet. "You two canvass the construction site. Surely someone must have witnessed something."_

"_The foreman did mention that they have a problem with the homeless at night." Detective Esposito reported. "Ryan and I were going to venture down there later on, see what we can come up with."_

"_Hmmm...Homeless, White Plains." The Minstrel mused aloud. He had risen to his feet. His hands moved up and down as if he was weighing up both options. "Homeless, White Plains."_

"_Both are creepy." Detective Espsoito said._

_Without further ado the Minstrel moved swiftly to catch up to the fair Detective Beckett who had departed from the squad room. _

"_Fare thee well Minstrel." Detective Ryan called out to the rapidly departing figure of the Minstrel. The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito looked at each other and laughed before they went about their business..._

Castle paused and looked over to Kate to find looking drowsy. Lanie followed his gaze.

"I think it's someone's nap time." Lanie remarked.

"No, not sleepy." Kate replied, her eyes battling to stay open.

"Don't you be arguing with a doctor, girlfriend." The medical examiner warned gently.

"Ok."

Lanie rose from the couch to allow Kate to stretch out fully out on the couch. The medical examiner made sure to tuck the blanket around her friend. Within moments Kate was asleep. Lanie straightened up and turned to face Castle.

"Well, I'd better be going, Castle."

"You're more than welcome to say Lanie." Castle replied. "If you've got nothing on, that is."

"Well..."

"I'll even make lunch." Castle offered.

"How can a girl refuse. Ok."

XXXXX

_**Your thoughts Dear Reader would be most welcome by this humble scribe.**_

_**Con **_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Where are you taking me, Castle?" Kate demanded.

Kate was holding onto Castle's as they slowly made their way up a set of stairs. Despite having visited Castle's loft so many times she had never noticed the door that led to the stairs to the roof. She knew that is where they were heading because they were moving upwards but that did not stop her from asking.

"You'll see." Castle replied with a grin.

They finally reached the top landing. Castle reached for the door and pushed it open. He stepped through drawing Kate with him. Kate blinked with surprise as she stared at what she found. It was a roof top garden. An impressive looking garden at that. There were boxes filled with a variety of plants that surround a wide expanse of lawn. In between the box there tubs of shrubs and small trees. In a far corner was a small gazebo with white lattice sides. Close to the gazebo was a water feature. Kate's eyes were drawn to the two banana lounges that sat in the middle of the lawn and a wicker picnic basket that sat between the chairs. Beside the basket there was a small stack of books.

Kate dragged her eyes from the picnic setting to look at Castle. He was grinning at her.

"I know being cooped up indoors all day was making you a little stir crazy, so I thought seeing it was a nice warm sunny day that we'd have lunch up here." Castle explained.

Kate nodded her head and smiled at him. Castle escorted her over to one of the chairs and helped her sit down. She gave him a nod of thanks once she was settled. Castle moved across to the other chair and sat down.

"This is good, Castle." Kate told him.

"I thought you'd like it."

"I really do."

"Hungry?" Castle inquired as he reached for the picnic basket.

Kate shook her head.

"Well if you get peckish just help yourself."

"I will." She assured him. "When did you do...?" she waved her hand.

"All this?"

Kate gave him a nod.

"I set it up while you were having your morning nap." Castle informed her.

"It's sweet of you."

Castle gave a shrug of his shoulders as if to say that what he had done was nothing really.

Kate reclined in her chair and closed her eyes enjoying the warmth of the sun. It did really feel good to be outdoors. Castle had been right she had been starting to feel a little stir crazy being indoors all the time.

"Rick?"

"Yes?"

"Would you continue with your story?"

"The lady's wish is my command." Castle said chuckling.

"… _The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel drew up to the house belonging to the parents of Melanie. It was larger than the other houses in the street and well maintained, the walls seemed to sparkle from the fresh coat of paint they had received. A wide expanse of lawn covered the front garden, green and manicured. The lawn was surrounded by well tended flower beds in full bloom. The abode bespoke of some money but not too much. The gardens were not maintained by some hired hand and the Minstrel surmised that the recent painting of the house had been accomplished by the owner._

_The fair Detective Beckett cast a glance in the direction of the Minstrel. At his nod she was about to dismount from her steed when a noise made her pause. Both the fair Detective and the Minstrel turned their gaze towards the house._

_Two little girls, one aged about eight and the other aged six, came screaming from around the house. They both ran to the middle of the lawn before they stopped and turned around. A moment later an elderly stocky grey haired man came shuffling from around the house. He lumbered towards the young girls he let out a loud growl as he held out his arms wide hoping to capture one or both of the little girls. The two young girls let out delighted screams as they dashed away from his reach._

"_That's Ben Davidson." The fair Detective remarked._

_For a moment and maybe more both the fair Detective and her companion the Minstrel watched the game acted on the lawn. The young girls continued laughing and screaming as they danced about their grand sire who made half hearted efforts to catch them, swinging his arms here and there._

_A small wistful smile appeared on the Minstrel's face as he watched the children and their grand-sire playing. It recall to mind of the days when he would act in the very same way to the amusement of his young daughter. His home would be filled with the scarily delighted laughter of Alexis as they played hide and seek or chase._

"_Minstrel?" The fair Detective called out._

_The Minstrel shook off his fond reveries and turned his eyes to the fair Detective Beckett to find her dismounted and staring at him, her eyebrow raised in a silent question. Realising there was work afoot, the Minstrel dismounted from his faithful steed Derrick. He took up station beside the fair Detective as they made their way to the front gate of the Davidson domicile._

_The Minstrel hopped ahead of the fair Detective and opened the gate to allow her to pass through first. The fair Detective Beckett cast the Minstrel an amused look at his display of chivalry._

"_Mr Davidson?" _

_Ben Davidson looked up from the two girls clinging to his legs and found the fair Detective and Minstrel looking at him._

"_Yes ma'am. That is me." Davidson announced. "How may I be of service?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett produced her shield and held it up for Davidson to see._

"_Is there a place where we may talk?" The fair Detective Beckett said._

_The smile on Davidson's with which he had greeted the two arrivals faltered. He motioned toward the house with his head._

"_Mayhap we should repair inside?" He replied. _

_The fair detective nodded her head. Davidson looked down at his grand daughters._

"_Girls you play here on the lawn." He said. "Do not play in the street, is that clear?"_

_The two girls nodded their heads before they released their hold on his legs. Davidson smiled down at his charges before he motioned with his hand toward the front door and escorted the Fair Detective and the Minstrel indoors._

_Richard the Minstrel took in the living room they had been shown into. On one wall there were a series of paintings, one of which was of Melanie and her parents, all smiles and happiness. Another was of Davidson and his wife and their grand daughters. In this picture the girls were beaming while the grand parents smiled but there was none of the sparkle that he had seen in the first picture. On another wall there was a large walnut cabinet with a glass front where the family china was stored. Other shelves held delicate drinking glasses. The room was dominated by the large leather couch which seen better days but had yet to reach the point where it needed to be replaced. A large rapidly fading rug covered most of the wooden floor._

_Ben Davidson and his good wife, Julia were seated close together on the couch, holding hands. Both their faces displayed the grief of being informed that their only child had finally been found. _

"_I...I think we have both known..." Julia Davidson said with a sigh. She looked at her husband and shared another pained look before she turned to look at the fair Detective. "...that Melanie would not be returning home."_

"_What can you recall in the days leading up to her disappearance?" The Fair Detective Beckett asked gently._

_Once more the Minstrel could not help but admire the way the fair Detective dealt with the grieving parents. She had broken the news that Melanie had been found dead as gently as she could and then had waited a while until she felt they were ready to answer her questions. The Minstrel could only imagine what the Davidson's were going through at this moment, and he had a most imaginative and vivid imagination._

"_We had spoken to her a couple of days before. My wife did, I mean." Davidson said._

"_Everything appeared fine." Julia added._

"_She did not intimate in anyway that she was leaving?"_

_Julia shook her head at the fair Detective's question._

"_You were familiar that your daughter..." The Minstrel ventured and paused as he tried to frame his question in a more delicate manner. "...that your daughter had some issues?"_

_Ben Davidson lifted up his head and glared angrily at the Minstrel._

"_They had nothing to do with what happened here."_

"_How do you know?" The Minstrel said._

"_You sound like that other policeman who first investigated the case." Davidson shook his head at the memory. "He was convinced she had run away, convinced she was still on drugs."_

"_But you did not think that." The fair Detective Beckett interjected in a gentle tone._

"_Melanie may not have been the greatest of mothers, but she loved her children. She would never have left them." Davidson said firmly._

"_What about her husband?"_

"_Sam believed it was the drugs too, Detective." Julia said._

"_You know, he waited over a day before he reported her missing?" Davidson said in disbelief._

"_She had run off before." The Minstrel said._

_Once more Ben Davidson glared at the Minstrel. _

"_I am not going to sit here and deny that." He said, the anger growing. "But if Sam thought she was in trouble, why did he wait a whole day before he reported her missing? Why did he not send for help? Even if she had been apprehended and locked up, she would have been better off than..."_

_Davidson paused and let out a frustrated sigh. He sat back against the couch and fixed his gaze on the fair Detective._

"_What does it matter now? I mean the time for asking these questions was five years ago, but the policeman on the case back then did not want to ask them!"_

_The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel bid their leave of the grieving Davidsons and made their way to their waiting horses. The Minstrel cast a look in the direction of the fair Detective Beckett and fund her tight lipped and her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to suppress some anger that was threatening to surface. He had no idea what the cause of it was. Quickly he thought back over the interview with the Davidsons trying to recall any incident if he had over stepped that would raise the ire of the fair Detective. He could not recall to mind any such indiscretion. He knew well enough that if he did make an indiscretion he would have known about it there and then courtesy of one her death glares._

_He watched the fair Detective Beckett climb onto the back of her horse. Climbing onto his trusty steed, Derrick, the Minstrel chose that moment to break the tense silence that had descended._

"_They sound like they were pretty unhappy with the original investigation." The Minstrel said._

_The fair Detective Beckett turned her head to look at the Minstrel._

"_Truly from where I am sitting, they had every reason to be, Minstrel." The fair Detective Beckett said vehemently._

"_The investigator whose case it was, you know him?"_

_The fair Detective shook her head. "Detective Sloan was before my time."_

"_So,is he still about?"_

"_Well if you count being a sheriff in a small village in Jesery." The fair Detective said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Then I suppose he is still around."_

_The fair Detective Beckett wheeled her trusty steed away from the Davidson's home and started to gallop down the street. The Minstrel watched her depart._

"_Why do I get the distinct feeling we are about to venture into the wilds of Jersey?" The Minstrel said aloud to himself. Suddenly her spurred Derrick into a fast gallop to catch up to the rapidly disappearing figure of the fair Detective Beckett._

_XXX_

_Richard the Minstrel found himself at a small table in a quiet little tavern in the little village in the wilds of Jersey. It was a rustic little place with exposed wooden beams in the ceiling and unadorned red bricks for the walls. All the tables and benches were made from sturdy timber. A large fireplace covered most of one wall where a blazing fire burned providing warmth to the few patrons who had chosen to frequent the establishment on this cold night. Most of the patrons were seated at tables closest the fire place. Some were drinking beer from large steins while others were sipping mugs of coffee. _

_The Minstrel could not be sure if he had visited this place before. Then again he had visited far too many taverns in his travels that he found it impossible to remember them all. The ones that stuck in his memories were the ones that had been lively and boisterous, where his performances had been well received from the patrons and the tavern wenches were overly friendly. This particular tavern did not seem too friendly toward wandering minstrels plying their trade. Well he was not here tonight to sit before the fire ready to weave a story._

_The Minstrel was seated beside the fair Detective Beckett. On the other side of the table was seated Sheriff Clay Sloan. He was man well past middle age with a shock of silver hair. The paunch behind the dark uniform he wore with all the shining pins and baubles that marked him the village's chief law enforcement officer, indicated that the sheriff had been grazing in a very good pasture. All three occupants at the table were drinking coffee. Sheriff Sloan took a drink of his coffee before setting the mug down on the table in front of him._

"_So Melanie Cavanaugh has finally been found after all these years, eh?" Sheriff Sloan said with a slight chuckle._

"_She was not found." The fair Detective Beckett said tersely. "Her body was found."_

"_Oh." The smile faded from Sheriff Sloan's face. "I am saddened to hear that."_

_For a moment Sheriff Sloan played with his mug. He looked up at the fair Detective._

"_From the moment I took the case, I had feeling that it would end badly." He said._

"_Her parents led us to believe that you were pretty certain she had had run away." The Fair Detective Beckett said._

"_Her being found dead and her running off are not exactly incompatible. Not with her history." Sheriff Sloan shrugged his shoulders._

"_Her parents also believe that your investigation did not venture beyond her history." The Minstrel said._

"_I was on a missing persons, not a murder." Sheriff Sloan shot back. "You have a dead body, all I had was a woman with a drug habit and a history of vanishing."_

"_And a spouse who did not report her missing for over a day." The fair Detective added._

_Sheriff Sloan fixed the fair Detective Beckett with a hard look._

"_Look sweetheart don't play that game with me." Sheriff Sloan growled. "Sam Cavanaugh cooperated. He allowed crime scene investigators into his home,anything I asked of him he agreed."_

_The Minstrel felt the fair Detective tense at being called 'sweetheart'. It was enough to get her hackles up. She did not like the man sitting opposite her and being condescending towards her made it all the worse. He chose that moment to diffuse the situation, to give her a moment to rein in her anger._

"_Were you aware that Sam Cavanaugh met an untimely end as well?" He said._

_Sheriff Sloan blanched. The look he gave the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel told them that he was not aware of such news._

"_He was murdered." The fair Detective informed him. "Brought down in the street, over a year ago."_

_It took Sheriff Sloan some moments to take that information in. He finally shook his head and look at the fair Detective._

"_What is it you want from me? We had reports of her in Philadelphia with a drug addled ex-boyfriend. It was what is was."_

"_But you did not bother to go down to investigate it." The fair Detective pressed._

"_Did not need to." Sheriff Sloan shrugged. "We had reports."_

"_Indeed." The fair Detective remarked as she consulted the case file that had brought with and had it opened before her. "From her husband's best friend, a Charles Wyler, Esquire."_

"_So?"_

"_Truly he is not an impartial observer, Sheriff Sloan." The Minstrel pointed out, unable to hide his smirk. Sheriff Sloan looked at the Minstrel._

"_The gentleman owned his own business. He had a family. He was war veteran. I saw no reason to doubt his word."_

"_And needless to say, Philadelphia is such a long journey." The Minstrel added._

_Sheriff Sloan narrowed his eyes at the Minstrel._

"_Look, Melanie Cavanaugh was only missing then."_

"_No, Sloan." The fair Detective said in a raised voice. It did not escape anyone's attention that she had not used his title. The fair Detective leaned over the table towards Sheriff Sloan, giving him the kind of glare that she reserved for criminals. "She was already dead but you did not know it."_

_Sheriff Sloan rose to his feet scraping the chair on the floor as he did so. The meeting was over._

_He did not take it kindly being treated as if he was some suspect and he certainly did not appreciate having some mere slip of a girl casting aspersions about what he did or did not do when he had been handling the case. With barely a nod he grabbed his had and marched out of the tavern._

_The fair Detective Beckett back from the table and exhaled a long sigh of frustration. The Minstrel ventured to cast his gaze in the direction of the fair Detective._

"_Truly that went well, don't you think, my dear detective?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett regarded the Minstrel for a moment and perhaps a little more. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Trust the man to find humour in a moment of tenseness. Despite herself she found a small smile rising to her lips. She straightened up. She closed the case file and reached for her mug of coffee._

"_Drink up, Minstrel." she announced. "We best be on our way."_

"_What?" The Minstrel shot back. "You want to venture on the highways at this late hour of the night, my dear detective?"_

"_Are you afraid of being waylaid by some highwayman, Minstrel?" The fair Detective Beckett retorted. "Don't fret so, I have my weapons with me."_

_The Minstrel pulled a face at the fair Detective in response to her teasing. _

"_Our journey home will take some hours and venturing out at this time of the night is not the brightest of ideas especially with the rain not far off. Take it from some one who has journeyed in the dead of night in the rain, there is little to recommend it no matter how pleasant the company may be."_

"_Pray tell Minstrel are you suggesting that we take a room for the night?" The fair Detective said unable to hide the surprise on her face._

"_Rooms, my dear detective, rooms." The Minstrel emphasised._

_The fair Detective Beckett turned her face from the Minstrel's gaze hoping that he did not espy the blush that blossomed upon her cheeks. She reached for mug of coffee._

_XXX_

_The fair Detective Beckett finished her ablutions and returned to the room to find the Minstrel stretched out on one side of the bed. He had removed his riding boots and was wearing his socks. His attention was focused on the case file had open before him. She hovered in the door way just watching him. She found it hard to believe that she was sharing a room with Richard the Minstrel. The devotee inside of her was doing cartwheels at the very thought but the no nonsense by the book police investigator could not help but wonder if the man had planned it that way. Was there really only one room available? She should have been at his side when he had gone to inquire about rooms for the night instead of going to the water closet._

_The room was very warm thanks to the fire the Minstrel had started in the small fireplace. The burning logs snapped and crackled as the flames licked them. The sounds from the fireplace competed with the heavy drumbeat of the rain beating against the window pane._

_Sensing the fair Detective's gaze upon him the Minstrel paused in his reading and looked up. He graced the fair Detective with a gentle smile._

"_There you are my dear detective." The Minstrel said. "You had been in there for such a long time, I feared you had chosen to ride back into the city."_

"_Do not think that the thought did not cross my mind when I found you had gotten us a room and not rooms as promised, Minstrel."_

"_Who was to know that this humble little village in the wilds of Jersey is the centre for exponents of Morris Dancing in this province and as our luck would have it there is here to be a gathering of Morris Dancers?"_

"_Indeed, who was to know?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett could hesitate no longer there in the doorway. Slowly she made her way to her side of the bed and pulled aside the blankets. She did not feel all that comfortable having to share a bed with him no matter what her inner devotee was telling her. She had tried to get him to sleep on the floor on first entering the room but what she got for her trouble was a full on puppy dog look from the Minstrel that tugged at her heart strings and made her feel bad for ever having made the suggestion. She relented and in the blink of an eye the puppy dog look vanished from the face of the Minstrel._

_Settling in the bed the fair detective pulled up her side of the blanket. Glancing over she found that the Minstrel had returned to the case file. She saw his ruggedly handsome face crease into a frown._

"_Should I ever disappear, my dear detective..." The Minstrel said slowly, "Please make sure Sloan is not on the case."_

"_I despise cops like him. Men like him." The fair Detective said angrily. "Things only make sense to them if they fit in a box. So they make them fit, and murderers go free."_

_Richard the Minstrel closed the case file and set it upon the night sand on his side of the bed. He turned and looked upon the fair Detective._

"_Is that what happened to your father?" He asked quietly._

"_My father?" The fair Detective gave the Minstrel a quizzical look._

"_It did not escape my attention that you wear a time piece that was made for men." The Minstrel motioned with his head to the night stand on the fair Detective's side of the bed. The fair Detective glanced at the watch._

"_Am I correct in assuming it belonged to your father? And that is why you wear it?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett felt her heart skip a beat and she found breathing a difficult task. She recalled to mind their first meeting not so long ago, there in the interrogation room of the squad room. His profile of her had been very close to the bone. It had startled her, taken her aback to discover that he had read her so clearly. She had not confessed to him then and she was not about to now. _

_The fair Detective Beckett rolled onto her side and reached up to the night stand turning down the wick of the lamp dimming it._

"_Good night, Minstrel." she announced._

"_Until the morrow, my dear detective." He replied._

_The fair Detective felt the Minstrel get up and then slide into the bed. He moved a little until he got comfortable and then stilled. The lamp on his side of the bed was also dimmed leaving the only light in the room coming from the fire. _

"_Minstrel?" The fair Detective said, she looked over her shoulder towards him._

"_Hmm?"_

"_I trust you shall keep to your side of the bed during the night?"_

"_Your virtue is completely safe, my dear detective. I shall be a picture of gentlemanly rectitude."_

"_Know this well, my weapon is close at hand should you or any part of you decide to go wandering during the night..." _

"_Duly noted, my dear detective." The Minstrel chuckled._

"_Night."_

"_Sweet dreams, my dear detective."_

_The fair Detective Beckett closed her eyes, listening to the rain falling against the window and the crackling of the fire. She also listened to his steady breathing. Before she knew it she was drawn into Hypnos's welcoming arms..."_

Castle came to a pause in his story. He looked over to Kate and found her watching him intently. His face broke into a wide grin. He was pleased for a change she had not fallen asleep during his story.

"You're awake." He remarked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Normally when I'm telling the story you promptly drop off to sleep. I was beginning to think you didn't like the sound of my voice and the only way to get away from it was to fall asleep."

Kate smiled gently at him.

"I like the sound of your voice."

"You do?"

Kate nodded her head. Castle beamed at her.

"Good to know." He said. "Feeling hungry now?"

"As a matter of fact I am."

Castle reached for the picnic basket opening the lid.

"What do you feel like, egg salad or tuna?"

"Egg salad."

A moment later Castle passed over the egg salad sandwich. The writer and his wounded muse remained on the roof top garden for the rest of the day only coming down when the sun started to set for the day.

XXX

_**Your thoughts Dear Reader for this humble effort would truly be appreciated.**_

_**Con **_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Castle emerged from his bathroom and walked over to the bed. He pulled the blankets aside and slid into the bed. After watching a movie together with Kate she had gone up to bed a couple of hours ago. She declined his offer of help telling him that she could climb up the stairs without his help now. All the same he had carefully watched her progress up the stairs ready to leap off the couch should she show any sign of faltering. Left to his own devices he had spent the last couple of hours working on his book. He was pleased to have finished another chapter and had started on the next.

He reached for the hardback that was sitting on the nightstand prepared to read for a little while before turning in for the night. He had barely read several paragraphs when he heard the bedroom door open.

Peering through the dimness of the bedroom it took a moment for Castle a moment to recognise the familiar figure standing in the doorway. He was both surprised and pleased to see her standing there.

"Kate?" Castle said as he set aside the book. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." Kate said in a low voice. "I just couldn't sleep."

"Bad dreams again?"

"No."

Castle started to pull aside the blankets.

"No, Rick, don't get out of bed."

Castle paused and stared at her still standing in the doorway. An idea came to him and he scooted across the bed making room for her.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" He said when she had made no move.

For a moment Kate did not move from where she was standing as if she was trying to make up her mind. Hesitantly she took a step forward and then another, then came to stand on the side of the bed he had vacated. He was amused to see that she was wearing one of his t-shirts which seemed a little too large for her. All the same his t-shirt looked better on her than it did on him. Of late she preferred wearing his t-shirts than her own sleepwear.

Kate seemed to hesitate, biting on her lower lip. Then reaching a decision she slowly slid into the bed. Castle made sure she was settled and comfortable before he reached over and covered her with the blanket.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" He said, trying not to grin.

Kate gave him one of her patterned glares which made Castle grin even more, if briefly before he schooled his face.

"Would you like me to continue with the story?" He offered.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Kate replied. "I want to see how you handle the morning after the night before."

Castle chuckled. His eyebrows danced up and down in a suggestive manner. It earned him an elbow in the ribs.

"Ow. That hurt." Castle whined.

"Don't be such a baby." Kate chided.

"Do you want to hear the story or do you want to inflict grievous bodily harm on me all night?"

Kate was silent as she scrunch up her face, thinking over the question.

"Kate?"

"I'm thinking Rick, both options have their merit."

"Very funny."

"Story, please." Kate announced, her face brightening with a smile.

Castle could not help but smile back at her. It pleased him to see that some of her nervousness when she had come into his bedroom had faded and she was smiling.

"…_Richard the Minstrel slowly awoke from the most pleasant of slumbers he had experienced in many a day, or should that be many a night. He kept his eyes closed trying to savour the last remnants of the dream he had been enjoying. He could not help but smile at the memory. As the fog of sleep began to lift he felt a steady warm breath slowly caressing the side of his face. The next thing he took notice was that a hand was draped upon his chest, clutching at his shirt._

_The Minstrel turned his head and ventured to open an eye and then the other. The sight that he beheld was enough to take his breath away. It was the most beautiful of visions he had ever had the privilege of witnessing. Truly nothing his dreams could conjure up could compare to the reality that confronted him._

_The fair Detective Beckett lay on her side turned in his direction mere inches from him. Her beautiful face framed by her brown tresses was in peaceful repose. He could not help but notice that her lips were curved in a small smile. He could only stare in wonderment at such breathtaking beauty._

_The Minstrel whose command of words had enabled him to compose countless sonnets and lyrics, not to mention tomes of the highest quality and entertainment suddenly found himself unable to find the words that could describe the vision that his eyes gloried in. He let out a low sigh, suddenly remembering to breathe._

"_You are staring, Minstrel." The fair Detective said in a sleep filled voice, her eyes still closed._

"_Nay, my dear detective." The Minstrel replied in a low voice. "Staring I am not. I am gazing."_

_Drinking in your beauty like a thirsty man in the desert, the Minstrel thought to himself but did not dare to voice aloud._

_The smile upon the fair Detective Beckett's deepened, amused by the Minstrel's response. Suddenly her smile faltered and then vanished. Her eyes snapped open. The realisation of where she was and who she was with hit her like a pail of cold water to the face. Removing her hand from his shirt she quickly sat up. Her face redden with a bloom of embarrassment._

"_Minstrel, did I not warm you about..." The fair Detective said._

"_Good morrow, my dear Detective Beckett." There was amusement in the Minstrel's gentle voice as he greeted the fair Detective._

"_Minstrel!"_

"_I was good at my word, I was nothing but a gentleman."_

_The fair Detective Beckett gave the Minstrel one of her well known death glares._

"_Little did I know that it was not your virtue that was in danger but my own." The Minstrel laughed._

_The fair Detective Beckett let out a huff of exasperation as she threw aside the blankets and got out of bed putting as much distance between herself and the Minstrel. She walked to the window and stared out. It was early with the sun still yet to rise. The rain had stopped even though the sky was overcast. _

_The fair Detective paid little heed to the weather. She was consumed by a number of conflicting emotions._

_The Minstrel eased himself out of the warm bed with some reluctance. He reached for his boots and pulled them on. Rising to his feet he looked upon the fair Detective as she stood by the window. He could have made a few more japes about what had happened but he could tell that the fair Detective would appreciate it not. No, he came to realise, now was not the time to joke._

"_I will go down stairs to the common room and rustle us up some food to break our fast and leave you to take care of your morning ablutions." The Minstrel announced. _

_The fair Detective did not turn from the window, she merely nodded her head in acknowledgement of what the Minstrel had announced._

_An hour later found the fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel in the courtyard of the tavern. They had mounted their steeds in readiness to depart for their return journey to the city. The Minstrel awaited to take his cue from the fair Detective but was a little puzzled when she had not urged her horse into a gallop. Sensing that he was looking at her, the fair Detective turned her gaze to the Minstrel._

"_We shall not speak of this again." The fair Detective announced._

_The Minstrel raised his eyebrows in confusion. The fair Detective motioned with her head in the direction of the first floor of the tavern to the room where they had spent the night. Understanding flooded across the Minstrel's face._

"_We shall not speak of it again." The fair Detective repeated._

"_It shall be so." The Minstrel agreed._

"_And we shall certainly not speak of it to others."_

"_As you wish, my dear detective." The Minstrel bowed._

_The fair Detective Beckett regarded the Minstrel for a moment and perhaps a little more before she nodded her head. _

"_Let us away, Minstrel time not to tarry." The fair Detective Beckett declared._

_Suddenly she spurred her horse into a fast gallop and tore out of the courtyard and down the street heading out of the town. With a resigned sigh The Minstrel dug his heels into the flanks of Derrick urging him into a gallop. Though the fair Detective had put some distance between them Derrick was more than able to catch up to her galloping steed._

_XXX_

_After a many hour's journey back from the wilds of Jersey the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel had barely dismounted in front of the station house before they had climbed back into their saddles and were away once more. A dispatch orderly had come out of the station house with a missive that had been left by the steadfast Detective Esposito. On reading the missive the fair Detective was away forcing the Minstrel to give chase once more._

_A short while later the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel were in the warehouse district not far from the river. They reached a warehouse that had once been a printing factory but had been converted into a storage facility. The fair Detective and the Minstrel dismounted and tied up their steeds by the front gate beside the horses belonging to the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito._

_The fair Detective walked through the open front gate with the Minstrel close at her side. The steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito emerged from the building and walked over to them._

"_So what became of you two last evening?" Detective Ryan inquired with a grin upon his face. "We were ready to send out a search party."_

_The Minstrel cast a furtive glance in the direction of the fair Detective and could not help but observe the beginnings of a blush. He took a step towards Detective Ryan drawing his attention._

"_The fault was mine, gentlemen." The Minstrel announced. "After completing our interview with the sheriff I was waylaid by a group of eager devotees who insisted that I tell a story. The fair detective was all eager to depart for the city but upon seeing the eagerness of these devotees was kind enough to consent that we stay a while. By the time I came to the end of the story it was far too late to commence a journey, and the rains had come so we had stayed the night at the tavern rather than journeying through such bleak weather."_

_The Minstrel glanced at the fair Detective Beckett to find that her eyebrow was raised in surprise at his explanation. He gave her a furtive shrug of his shoulders._

"_Separate rooms, I expect." Detective Ryan remarked, casting a conspiratorial grin in the direction of his partner._

"_Indeed separate rooms. I would not presume upon the fair detective's good graces." The Minstrel said with a hint of indignation._

_The fair Detective was grateful towards the Minstrel for his hastily cobbled together explanation but all the same she could not help but rolled her eyes and shake her head at him. She turned her attention towards the steadfast Detective Esposito._

"_Pray tell you have found a witness."_

"_Indeed we have." Detective Esposito reported. "A homeless gent,a couple of coins into his palm managed to cajole his memory."_

"_Said he saw a yellow wagon draw up to the construction site." Detective Ryan added. "He saw a heavy set man pull out a large bag from the back of the wagon and goes into the site. When he comes back out he does not have the bag anymore."_

_The fair Detective nodded her head. "How did you find this place?"_

"_The homeless gent also remembered the words 'storage' emblazoned on the side of the wagon." Detective Esposito said._

"_We searched all the storage facilities on the West Side, found out this one uses yellow wagons." Detective Ryan added. Detective Esposito nodded his head in agreement. Both steadfast detectives looked pleased with their efforts._

_The fair Detective was also impressed with their efforts as well. They had done very well. She looked away from them and took in the courtyard. She noted the yellow painted wagons parked near the loading bays of the building. She then turned back to her detectives._

"_And who owns these wagons?" She asked._

_The steadfast Detective Ryan consulted the notes he had made in his notebook._

"_According to records, a Master Albert Bolland."_

"_Shall we pay Master Bolland a call, gentlemen?"_

_The three men nodded their heads and fell into step behind the fair Detective._

_XXX_

_Albert Bolland was indeed a heavy set man aged in his mid forties. He was broad of shoulder and chest with a protruding stomach that suggested he had enjoyed far too many ales over the years. He was dressed in his regular work clothes of shirt and thick woollen hose. There was a furtive look upon his face like that of a man who knew he was in trouble but would try and brazen it out believing that the three investigators from the constabulary and a minstrel had nothing on him. He knew he was in trouble from the very first question the fair Detective had fired at him._

"_Body, what body?" Bolland exclaimed. "I have no idea what you are talking about."_

"_A witness saw someone driving one of your yellow wagons and dumping the body." The fair Detective said._

"_You're lying." Bolland accused. "No one saw."_

"_Oh dear." The Minstrel said, sucking in breath. He leaned towards Bolland, trying not to grin at the man. "Mayhap you should have tried denying it first." The Minstrel said helpfully._

_Bolland looked away from the Minstrel to the fair Detective and found her gazing at him with a hard look._

"_Allow me to help you, Mater Bolland." The fair Detective said. "Melanie Cavanaugh, mother of two, wife of Samuel Cavanaugh."_

_For so ever a brief moment Albert Bolland thought about absconding, making a run for it like a startled rabbit. Looking at the fair Detective and the two male detectives told him that would be a most foolish course of action to undertake. He would not have gotten too far even if he had tried. He resolved to come clean._

"_All right." Bolland sighed as he ran his hand through his lank locks. "I dumped her but I swear..."_

"_You didn't cause her demise?" The fair Detective said completing his sentence._

"_That is correct. I found her." Bolland nodded._

_A look of disbelief settled upon the face of the fair Detective's face. She knew that the same expressions were on the faces of the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito._

"_I was not even aware she was even here." Bolland added._

"_Pray tell what do you mean 'here'?" The Minstrel inquired._

"_On the sixth floor." Bolland replied hurriedly, pointing upwards. "The renters were in arrears. We usually give them a quarter, and then cut the locks and we sell the belongings. Only this time all I find is this large shipping trunk."_

"_Were you not aware that it is illegal to store a dead body in a trunk?" The fair Detective questioned._

"_You think I knew?" Bolland retorted. "When I opened the trunk, I nearly had a seizure."_

"_You could have called the Constabulary." The fair Detective suggested._

"_So I could appear on the front page of the Ledger?" Bolland shook his head vigorously. "t'would not be good for business. What if it was a criminal underworld execution? I mean. I have a family."_

"_So did she."The fair Detective said tersely. She was liking this man less and less with every passing minute._

_The Minstrel could sense the fair Detective's growing displeasure at the man they were questioning and truth be told he was not very enamoured of the man either. Morally bankrupt, was one description that leaped to mind._

"_Verily, you find the body?" The Minstrel said._

_Bolland nodded his head._

"_And the next logical step in your mind, dump her at the construction site?"_

"_I have a friend who works over there. So when I find the body, I figure that's the place, right?" Bolland explained._

_The fair Detective shook her head at the man. _

"_Show us where you found her." She ordered._

_XXX_

_Having to climb up six flights of stairs was something Richard the Minstrel gave little thought to once he started up the stairs following the fair Detective Beckett who was following Albert Bolland._

_By the third floor his legs began to protest at the exertion that he was putting them through. Having spent most of the morning riding beside the fair Detective his body was tired and complaining in the only way it could, informing him that it required rest, and if it was not too much trouble a nice hot bath. _

_Alas he knew that he could not stop to rest. Here before the fair Detective Beckett and the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito he could not show any sign of weakness for surely they would make fun of him mercilessly and endlessly. He gritted his teeth and continued climbing up the stairs. He could not help but wonder how effortlessly the fair Detective wended her way up the stairs. Surely she too would be sore from the long ride?_

_The Minstrel almost let out a loud sigh of relief when they reached the sixth floor. And it was with an even greater relief he discovered the storage room where Melanie Cavanaugh's body had been stored was closest to the stairs. Bolland opened the double doors and stepped aside to allow the fair Detective entry. The Minstrel followed her in._

_The storage room was bare of anything except for the large storage trunk that sat in the middle of the floor. She approached the trunk and observed that the locks had been broken open. She lifted the lid and stared into the now empty trunk. Her eyes espied upon the edges of the trunk, tufts of the victim's hair._

"_Five years in there." The fair Detective said in a low voice. She glanced at the Minstrel and saw the mournful look upon his face. He nodded his head. "No one deserves that."_

"_No indeed." The Minstrel agreed._

_The fair Detective Beckett closed the lid of the trunk and turned to face Bolland who was standing in the doorway between the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito._

"_How were the payments for this room affected?" She demanded._

"_By coin, every six months." Bolland replied. "But as I said, they were three months overdue."_

_The fair Detective turned her attention to the Minstrel standing beside her. There was a thoughtful look upon her fair face._

"_That puts the last payment two months after her husband's demise."_

"_Truly it is most difficult to make payments when you are deceased." The Minstrel remarked._

_The fair Detective frowned. She looked over to Bolland._

"_Would you be able to describe the person who made payments for this room?" She asked._

"_Remember a face from nine months ago?" Bolland said with some surprise. Then he shook his head before he spoke again. "I can barely remember what I had for luncheon from the other day."_

_The fair Detective turned her back on Bolland focusing her attention to the Minstrel. Her frown deepened for she hated what she was about to say._

"_It appears that Sloane was right. Sam Cavanaugh had nothing to do with Melanie's murder."_

_The Minstrel could only offer up a shrug of his broad shoulders. His face too wore a frown._

"_If not Sam, then who?" He said._

_XXX_

_Richard the Minstrel stood before his large pantry and stared at the stacked shelves. He was dressed in a black silk bathrobe. He had just spent the past couple of hours soaking his tired and aching muscles in a hot bath. He was feeling refreshed from his long bath. He continued to stare at the pantry._

_He had accompanied the fair Detective Beckett and the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito back to the station house after they had left the storage warehouse. As he sat in his usual seat beside the fair Detective's desk he watched the fair Detective as she added new pieces of information upon the wall of murder. Together they reviewed what they had accumulated so far but the sum of the information thus far gathered could provide no new lead for them to follow._

_The longer the Minstrel sat in the chair the stiffer his body became. He tried valiantly not to allow his growing discomfort to show but there were moments when he could not help but wince when he moved in his seat. _

_The Minstrel's discomfort did not escape the notice of the fair Detective Beckett and she took pity on him and sent him home. The Minstrel was so grateful for his dismissal that he almost fell at her feet in gratitude but he did not for he feared that he would not be able to rise to his feet again and he did not want to suffer the indignity of being assisted to his feet by the steadfast Detectives Ryan and Esposito and thus be made fun of in the most merciless manner for ever and a day._

_The Minstrel continued to stare at the pantry._

"_Father, what are you doing?" Alexis inquired, she had come to stand by the door of the pantry._

"_I am ruminating upon why someone would put a dead body in a trunk, daughter of mine." The Minstrel said._

"_Is this a Lady Nicole or a Detective Beckett question?"_

"_That is right, the Lady Nicole question was about incinerating a body in a baking oven."_

_The Minstrel reached into the pantry and removed a container that was filled with leftovers. He placed the container on the counter and smiled at his daughter._

"_You put things in a trunk to keep them for later, but once they're there you hardly go back to them."_

_Alexis rested against the counter and looked at her father inspecting the contents of the container he had removed from the pantry._

"_If I was putting a body in a trunk it would be because I was trying to hide it."_

_The Minstrel smiled at his daughter's reasoning._

"_Verily, until you stopped paying for the storage."_

"_Did I stop, father, or did something stop me?" Alexis questioned._

_The smile on the Minstrel's face deepened as he gathered his daughter into his arms and hugged her tightly._

"_Know this well daughter, family moments such as these I shall never forget." He sighed._

"_Father, with a good and expensive therapist hopefully I will."_

_The Minstrel let out a laugh as he released his daughter. The young flame haired girl rose on her toes and planted a kiss upon the cheek of her father before she departed from the kitchen. The Minstrel returned the container filled leftovers to the pantry and closed the door. He moved to the coffee maker and poured a generous amount into the waiting mug. Picking up the mug he made his way to the study where he would finish a chapter or two of his new book before he turned in for the night..."_

Castle looked over to find Kate had fallen asleep. A gentle smile settled on his lips as he watched her for a moment. He then reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. Ever so gently so that he did not wake her, Castle settled down making himself comfortable.

"Sweet dreams, Kate." he whispered.

He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of her steady breathing for a few minutes before sleep claimed him.

Kate opened her eyes when she was certain that Castle had fallen asleep. She looked at his sleeping form and could not stop the small smile reaching her lips. Her hand travelled the small distance that separated them until she found his hand. Her hand slowly closed around his. She half expected him to wake up at the contact but Castle did not stir. She saw a small grin curve his lips. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

XXXXX


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Castle emerged from his office and crossed the room to go and answer the knocking at the door. As he was walking past he looked over to the living room and smiled at the sight of Kate and Alexis sitting on the couch watching an episode of Temptation Lane.

"I'll get the door, shall I?" he called out.

"Thanks Dad." Alexis replied waving her hand but her eyes were glued to the TV. Kate too was focused on the show.

Castle chuckled to himself as he headed to the door. Opening the door he was a little surprised to find Jim Beckett standing in front of him.

"Jim, what a pleasant surprise." The two men shook hands.

"Good to see you again, Rick."

"Come in, come in." Castle waved him in and closed the door.

Castle escorted Jim towards the living room.

"How is Kate?" Jim asked in a low voice.

"Good. Getting better." Castle assured him. He looked over to the living room and saw that both Kate and Alexis had not turned to see who had arrived.

"Though at the moment I doubt you'll get much of their attention."

"Oh?"

"A Temptation Lane marathon." Castle explained.

"Ah." Jim nodded his head in understanding. He chuckled softly. "I know it well, her mother was the same."

The two men exchanged a look that said that they did not understand what their women folk saw in goings on of that soap opera that made it addictive viewing for them, and probably never would.

"Kate, you have a visitor." Castle announced.

Kate turned her head to find her father standing in the living room beside Castle. Her face broke into a big smile.

"Hey Dad."

"Katie."

"Hello Mr Beckett." Alexis said with a smile.

"Alexis." Jim returned the smile.

Kate started to get up from the couch but Jim waved her down as he reached her. Leaning down he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he settled himself on a nearby armchair.

"Can I get you anything, Mr Beckett?" Alexis had risen from the couch.

"I'm fine thank you."

Alexis made her excuses and headed upstairs. Castle wanted to remain but he realised that father and daughter needed some alone time.

"Well I'll leave you two to it." He announced.

"Rick, you don't need to leave on my account." Jim said.

"I have to go back to work." Castle motioned with his hand in the direction of his office. "Must finish the chapter otherwise my publisher will flay me alive."

Jim nodded his head in understanding. He watched as Rick left the living room and disappeared into his office. Jim turned his attention back to Kate and smiled at her.

"So tell me, Katie is he taking good care of you?"

Kate rolled her eyes at her father's question. Jim gave her a serious look.

"Yeah, Dad he is taking good care of me."

Jim nodded his head. A grin appeared on his face.

"Just checking."

"Dad." Kate huffed.

Castle emerged from his office an hour later feeling with pleased with himself. He had finished the chapter in less time than he thought it would take. All that remained was to do some revisions which would not take him too long and then he could email the chapter to Gina.

He saw Kate and her father in deep conversation that was punctuated with ripples of laughter. He headed into the kitchen and made coffee for all of them. A few minutes later he brought the coffees over to the living room and passed them out before he claimed the spot on the couch that Alexis had vacated.

"Katie has been telling me you've been telling her another of your Minstrel stories." Jim announced.

Castle grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"If you don't mind, I would like to hear some of it."

"You would?" Castle was a little surprised at the request.

"We both would." Kate added.

"Well I wouldn't want to disappoint my fans." Castle chuckled.

The remark earned Castle a roll of Kate's eyes but he beamed back at her as returned to the story he had been telling.

"_... Richard the Minstrel found himself before a shop that specialised in the sale of antiques. As he dismounted from Derrick, the Minstrel saw a number of interesting items set out in front of the store. He began to inspect them with the critical eye he had for such wares. His own abode was filled with tasteful antiques he had acquired over the years. Some were of great monetary value and others were valuable to the Minstrel because of the amusement they gave him._

_As the Minstrel continued to cast his critical over the objects on display he could not help but wonder why the fair Detective Beckett had asked him to meet here. As he had been getting ready to set forth on this new day to the station house to assist the fair Detective Beckett in solving the crime of the murder of Melanie Cavanaugh he had received at his door a dispatch orderly who had passed the missive from the fair Detective summoning him to this very store._

_Upon hearing the arrival of a horse the Minstrel drew his eyes from the interesting antiques. He broke into a welcoming smile when he espied the fair Detective Beckett. The fair Detective dismounted and joined the Minstrel in front of the antique store._

"_Good morrow, my dear Detective, how does thee fair on this fine morning?"_

"_I am well, Minstrel." The fair Detective replied, gracing him with a small smile._

_The Minstrel regarded the fair Detective and could not help but notice that she looked a little tired as if she had not slept long overnight. He suspected immediately that after sending him home the day before she had remained in the squad room going over the evidence that they had gathered thus far well into the night. Truly he had witnessed it for himself such actions from the fair Detective before, staying in the squad room into the early hours of the morning reviewing evidence and reports of an especially difficult case._

"_May I inquire as to why we find ourselves in front of this store that sells antiques of various quality?" The Minstrel asked._

"_I thought it would do us well to speak to Charles Wyler esquire." The fair Detective Beckett informed him._

_The Minstrel nodded his head in understanding. His curiosity now assuaged._

"_Ah, yes indeed." He said. "Sam's best friend."_

_The Minstrel bowed his head and motioned with his hand in the direction of the front door of the store. The fair Detective gave the Minstrel a roll of her eyes and shake of her head at his theatrical display of chivalry but she also gave him a small smile before she walked through the front door._

_The first thing the Minstrel noticed about the store was that the better quality items were in the store rather than in front of the shop. His eyes fell upon an ornate teak writing desk. For a moment he wanted to linger at the desk and examine it carefully but he knew that he was not here on a shopping expedition. He quickly walked up to the fair Detective who approached the owner of the establishment._

_Charles Wyler esquire was a tall man aged in his early to mid forties with short black hair and a thin moustache. He was dressed in black shirt and matching trousers whose cut suggested that the antique business was a lucrative enterprise. A thick gold chain around his neck and bejewelled rings adorning several of his fingers also lent great weight to the idea that he was a successful antiques dealer. He was at this moment making notes on a clipboard, noting some recently arrived stock._

_Wyler glanced up from his work and saw the approach of the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel. He broke into a welcoming smile._

"_Good morrow, Lady, Sir." Wyler said in greeting. "How may I be of assistance?"_

"_Charles Wyler esquire?" The fair Detective said._

"_I am he." Wyler continued to smile._

_The fair Detective Beckett produced her shield and held it before Wyler's face. The smile faded from the man's face._

"_Detective Beckett New York Constabulary." The fair Detective said, then motioned in the Minstrel's direction. "And this is Richard the Minstrel."_

_Wyler looked from the fair Detective to the Minstrel and back to the fair Detective. A concerned, curious look settled upon his face._

"_How may I assist the constabulary?"_

"_We have some questions to ask of you concerning Melanie Cavanaugh."_

_Wyler nodded his head saddly._

"_I read in the Ledger that her body had been found. Very sad." Wyler sighed._

"_Master Wyler, the detective investigating Melanie's disappearance said that you had told him that she had gone to a former boyfriend in Philadelphia." The fair Detective said._

_Wyler nodded his head. "I only told him what Sam had told me."_

"_Sam told you?" The fair Detective's eyebrows rose upwards._

"_It is where she had gone previously, before the wedding and a few times after."_

"_But you are not sure that is where she ventured?"_

"_It is the only thing that made sense." Wyler's attention was drawn to a small statuette sitting on a table. He fingered it for a moment before he looked up to the fair Detective. "Melanie was a good woman but she was troubled, you know? Sometimes, when things got hard, she would go out and score. Then she would come home high, and accuse Sam of ruining her life. He'd given her everything."_

"_Do you recall the name of this former boyfriend?" The Minstrel inquired._

"_Kevin Henson." Wyler replied immediately. He made a sour looking face before he continued speaking. "If something happened to Melanie, he would be the one who would know."_

_The fair Detective nodded her head. She cast a glance in the direction of the Minstrel but from the look on his face she could tell that he had no further questions to ask of Master Wyler._

"_Thank you for your time, Master Wyler."_

_The fair Detective turned and started for the door. The Minstrel with the task at hand completed paused to cast his eyes over some other writing desks that had caught his attention. He started to move towards them._

"_Minstrel, are you coming?" The fair Detective Beckett called out._

_The Minstrel stopped heading towards the writing desks and changed course. Quickly he trotted to catch up with the fair Detective. The writing desks would have to wait for another day he consoled himself._

_XXX_

_Sir Roy of Montgomery the Sheriff stood at the desk of the fair Detective Beckett. The fair Detective and the Minstrel were also standing. Sir Roy was studying a sketch that the fair Detective had passed over to him. The sketch was of Kevin Henson. The picture was of a man in his thirties with a face which had endured a lot of wear and tear._

"_So this is Kevin Henson?" Sir Roy mused aloud._

"_Yes, sir." The fair Detective responded._

_Sir Roy looked up from the picture he was studying and focused his gaze upon the fair Detective._

"_Kevin Henson, Melanie's former boyfriend." The fair Detective reported. "He is currently serving a year in prison for opium peddling in South Jersey. He went into prison just after the last payment was made on the storage room."_

"_He stops payment, storage man finds her body." The Minstrel added._

"_Truly quite a coincidence." Sir Roy remarked._

_The fair Detective picked up a sheet of paper from her desk and passed it to Sir Roy._

"_As it happens Henson was on the outside when Sam Cavanaugh met his untimely demise."_

_Sir Roy looked up from the paper he had been handed and regarded the fair Detective._

"_Me thinks a journey to South Jersey is in order, detective."_

"_Yes, sir."_

_Sir Roy returned to his office leaving the fair Detective and the Minstrel looking at each other._

"_Not another trip to the wilds of Jersey?" The Minstrel whined._

_The fair Detective herself was not all that enamoured to find herself having to journey out to the province of New Jersey in the space of two days but she schooled her fair face not to reveal her true feelings._

"_If luck is riding with us, Minstrel we should return by nightfall." She informed him as she gathered her things and headed out of the squad room._

_The Minstrel let out another whine and made to catch up with the rapidly disappearing fair Detective._

_XXX_

_The closet thing to a prison Richard the Minstrel had ever been in was the holding cells that he had been thrown in for various minor infarctions of the laws of one municipality or another. On entering the confines of a genuine penitentiary was a sobering experience for the Minstrel. He could not imagine being confined behind these high walls for any length of time. It made him quiet._

_At the reception area the fair Detective Beckett handed over her weapons and asked for an interview with Kevin Henson. The guard behind the front desk waved her and the Minstrel to one of the chairs in the waiting area._

_As they sat down the fair Detective could not help but notice the Minstrel's quietude. She cast a raised eyebrow in his direction._

"_You are awfully silent, Minstrel?"_

"_I am fine, my dear Detective." The Minstrel replied, forcing a smile upon his face. _

_The fair Detective's eyebrows rose a little higher, silently telling him that she did not believe his words._

"_Truly, I am fine, me dear Detective." The Minstrel assured her. "Tis not everyday one gets to visit a incarceration facility such as this. And it takes a little getting used to. One can't help but think of all manner of misfortune that could befall a ruggedly handsome minstrel."_

"_Do not fear your pretty little head, Minstrel I am here and will protect you." The fair Detective patted his knee and smiled. _

_The little jape and friendly gesture was a balm that lessened the tension the Minstrel had been feeling from the moment he had passed through the front gates of the jail. A warmer smile appeared on the Minstrel's face._

"_Consider this field trip as a research expedition for the tome you are writing." The fair Detective added._

"_Truly an interesting thought you pose, my dear Detective." The Minstrel said, brightening. "Mayhap I could include a prison scene somewhere in the book?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett was curious about the story the Minstrel was writing about a character based on her. Of the times she had tried to illicit information about what he was writing all he would hand her were small titbits merely to whet her appetite. More often than not such morsels merely annoyed her. _

_A guard came around front the front desk and approached the fair Detective and her companion._

"_Detective Beckett?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett was drawn from her reveries. She rose to her feet and the Minstrel did the same._

"_Please follow me."_

_XXX_

_The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel were seated side by side at the table in the small bare interview room. Across from them on the other side was the man they had come to speak to, Kevin Henson. Henson was in his mid thirties, scrawny looking with a pale complexion that comes from spending too much indoors away from the sun. His face was a road map of the ravages of time and his addiction to narcotic substances had exacted. He was dressed in a sleeveless shirt that had not been washed in many a day. His arms were a canvas of a myriad of lurid tattoos. _

_Henson was holding a picture of Melanie and studying it with a sad expression upon his face. After some moments he slowly set the picture down upon the table and looked across to the fair Detective._

"_Have you ever been in love, Detective?" Henson said. "Compels you to do crazy things."_

"_Like kill someone?" The fair Detective offered in an even tone._

_Henson allowed a small humourless grin appear on his lips as he regarded the fair Detective. He did not need to think long and hard to draw the conclusion that this detective suspected him being the perpetrator of Melanie's death. The news of Melanie's death had affected him deeply but he would not show his pain to the rest of the world. He would mourn his former love in his own way, away from the eyes of the world. He sat up straighter in his chair and folded his hands together on the table. He fixed the fair Detective with an even gaze._

"_Mel and I, when we were together, time just stopped. But even the first day." Henson paused and slowly shook his head. "We both knew well it would never work out. Lord knows her parents would never allow their little girl to end up with the likes of me."_

_A wistful expression spread across Henson's face as the memories came back to him._

"_Sometimes..." Henson sighed as he continued, "sometimes when we were alone together, sometimes we almost believed."_

"_She was going to leave Sam." The Minstrel said. "That is the reason she came to see you."_

_Henson turned his gaze to the Minstrel. He nodded his head._

"_She had learned that he was having an affair." Henson said. "She feared that he would leave her and take the little ones and keep them because of her narcotic addiction. She wanted me to go with her, take the little ones and just vanish."_

"_And pray what did you do?" The fair Detective inquired._

"_I put her on the next coach back to the city."_

"_You sent her away?" The Minstrel said with some surprise._

_Henson shrugged his shoulders. He unclasped his hands and fingered the picture of Melanie in front of him. He looked up at his two interviewers._

"_What Melanie wanted I could not give her." Henson informed them. "The very next day I found the nearest rehabilitation facility and had myself incarcerated. I surmised that if I could get clean...That is where I was when she disappeared. When I was released, Melanie was dead."_

_The fair Detective Beckett cast a glance in the direction of the Minstrel. He held her gaze and saw that his expression and thoughts were mirrored in those green eyes of hers. The fair Detective turned back to look at the prisoner._

"_Pray tell how you could be sure that she was dead?"_

"_She stopped sending letters." Henson explained, his face clouding with sadness. "if she was alive she would have still written."_

_XXX_

_From the moment they had departed from the prison, the fair Detective Beckett had set a furious pace in her race to get back to the city. Eventually and out of necessity they had slowed their steeds to a walk to give the animals time to recover from the fast galloping. _

_They had walked about a mile in silence each lost in their own thoughts. The Minstrel cast a glance in the direction of his fair companion. He could not help but wonder that this eagerness to return to the city that the fair Detective was displaying had a little to do with the case they were investigating and a little to do with the fear of having to spend another night in a tavern with him. This skittishness of hers he found not offputting at all. He found it an adorable trait._

_Truth be told the Minstrel had fond memory of that night they shared a bed, and would do so for many a day. While he vowed to not speak of that chaste episode of nocturnal slumber he had shared with the fair Detective it did not preculde him from thinking about it._

_However, now was not the time to dwell upon such thoughts. The Minstrel's thoughts returned to the case at hand and he put voice to them breaking the silence that had descended between him and the fair detective._

"_An affair certainly explains a lot." The Minstrel intoned. "Sam kills Melanie, or he and his lover kill Melanie together."_

_The fair Detective Beckett turned her gaze upon the Minstrel and raised an eyebrow at him. "Pray tell who kills Sam?"_

"_The lover." The Minstrel returned. "When Sam backs out after all she's done for him. Tis not as if she could go to the constabulary if he broke his promise."_

_The fair Detective could not help it, she rolled her eyes and shook her head at the Minstrel's theory._

"_How do you conjure such things, Minstrel?"_

"_I can not claim credit for this, credit goes to them, Sam and his lover."_

"_Verily, you speak 'guy', Minstrel, do you not?"_

_The Minstrel nodded his head. He made to open his mouth but clamped it shut. He was ready with some stories to tell when he realised that such stories would not be appropriate at this moment in time. He nodded his head again._

"_If Sam had a lover, would his best friend know about it?"_

_Understanding flooded across the Minstrel's face as he realised where the fair Detective's line of questions were leading._

"_My very word, my dear detective, his best friend would surely know." The Minstrel smiled. _

_The fair Detective Beckett nodded her head. The Minstrel saw a look of determination settle upon her fair face as she tightened her hold on the reins. The Minstrel groaned inwardly as he realised what was to come. Yet this time he was not about to be left choking on her dust or dodging clods of dirt kicked up by her departing horse. Just as the fair Detective was about to spur her steed into a gallop the Minstrel dug his heels into Derrick's flanks. Derrick leaped forward and galloped away leaving the fair Detective much surprised and chagrined at being left behind. The Minstrel was several furlongs away before she started after him in a race to be the first to reach the city._

_XXX_

_The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel emerged from the rear entrance to Wyler's Antiques Emporium into the rear loading yard. The fair Detective paused to seek out Wyler. She espied him at the far end of the yard standing beside a wagon supervising the unloading of a shipment of oak panelled bureaux. Wyler was making a note on a clipboard as each item was unloaded from the wagon and carried into the storage area._

_The fair Detective Beckett marched toward where Master Wyler was standing. The Minstrel was right beside her keeping in step._

"_You lied to us." The fair Detective Beckett declared on reaching Wyler._

_Wyler looked up in surprise._

"_Your pardon, Detective?"_

"_A word to the wise, Master Wyler" The Minstrel said, trying not to grin. "It would not do well for you to lie to Detective Beckett."_

_Wyler wore an expression of confusion as he looked from the smirking Minstrel to the determined looking fair Detective._

"_I know not what you mean." He said hesitantly._

"_Did you not think mayhap it was relevant your friend Sam had an affair about the time Melanie disappeared?" The Minstrel asked. "Did you not think that this small morsel of information should have been passed to the constabulary?"_

_Wyler shrugged his shoulders._

"_Truly that was long ago." Wyler replied. "And Melanie was murdered a long time ago. What is the point in dragging everyone through the mud? Have not their children been through enough? Do they not deserve some peace?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett's green eyes flashed with anger. She took several steps towards Wyler._

"_What they deserve, Master Wyler is to know what happened to their mother."_

_The Minstrel looked at the fair Detective surprised at the heated anger he had heard in her voice. He had seen the fair Detective angry many times before. Usually the cause of that anger was due to something he had done or said and usually it was more irritation than anger. This burst of emotion that he had witnessed was different._

_Wyler too had been surprised by the fair Detective. He had taken an involuntary step backwards and a look of fear flickered in his eyes. He regarded the fair Detective for a moment and maybe more not certain if she would physically assault him or not. The hard glare that she directed at him quickly made him realise that he had little option but to tell her what she wanted to hear._

"_Elizabeth Forte." Wyler announced. "Elizabeth Forte is her name. She worked with Sam at his counting house..."_

At the completion of this segment of the tale Jim decided that it was time to go. He rose from his chair and leaned down to kiss Kate good-bye, promising to come by again soon. Castle rose to his feet and escorted Jim to the front door.

The two men stood in the open doorway.

"Thank you, Rick." Jim said.

"For what?" Castle could not help but look confused.

"For taking care of my little girl."

"Thanks aren't necessary." Castle shook his head.

"She looks a lot better than I expected."

"And she will look even better."

Jim nodded his head.

"Jim, you're welcome here anytime, day or night."

XXXXX

_**What do you think of this latest effort of the Minstrel?**_

_****__**Con**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Dear Reader, my most humble of apologies for my tardiness between chapters of this story. Here is the latest instalment of this story. I hope you enjoy it.**_

Chapter 11

It was not late but Kate was feeling tired. The session with the physical therapist had exhausted her. Her chest was hurting. She had not been the best of company during dinner and the movie Castle had chosen, a comedy had only made her chest hurt even more when she laughed. Half way through the movie she got up abruptly and announced she was going to bed.

Castle had leaped to his feet ready to assist her but a glare from Kate had him rooted to the spot.

Laying in bed Kate was not surprised to hear a soft tapping at the bedroom door a short while later. She did not have time to call out before the door opened slowly and a concerned looking Castle poked his head around the door.

"Are you all right, Kate?"

"Yeah."

"Do you need anything?"

"I'm good."

"Pain meds?"

"I'm waiting for them to kick in."

"Okay." Castle remained in the doorway.

"Look, Castle I'm not the best of company right now."

A warm, understanding smile spread across the author's face. "Lucky for you I am."

Kate watched as Castle left the doorway and came around to the unoccupied side of the bed. She stared as he settled down on the bed and offered her a smile. Despite herself she returned the smile.

"You want to hear more of the story?"

Kate nodded her head.

"Get comfortable, then."

"I'm as comfortable as I'll get, Castle." Kate sighed.

"Okay then."

"_...Richard the Minstrel swept into the squad room with a beaming smile upon his ruggedly handsome visage and a cup of coffee in each hand. His smile broadened upon finding the fair Detective Beckett seated at her desk. She looked up at his approach and graced him with a warm welcoming smile. What that smile did to the Minstrel was beyond words._

"_Good morrow, Minstrel." The fair Detective said._

"_Good morrow to you, my dear Detective." The Minstrel returned._

_The Minstrel held out to the fair Detective the cup in his right hand. The fair Detective reached up and wrapped her hand around the cup, her fingers brushing the Minstrel's fingers. For a moment and maybe more the Minstrel all but forgot how to breath._

"_Thank you, Minstrel" The fair Detective said._

_The fair Detective Beckett's words were enough to break the spell she cast over the Minstrel. Taking a breath the Minstrel sat himself upon the chair that had come to be his. He watched as the fair Detective took a drink of the caffeinated beverage that he had brought her. It gladdened his heart to see her close her eyes savouring the beverage._

"_So what is the order of the day, my dear Detective?" The Minstrel inquired. "Do we set off in search of the scarlet woman?"_

"_Why would we do that, Minstrel?" The fair Detective said as she placed her coffee cup on her desk._

"_Is she not a person of interest we wish to interview?" _

"_She is."_

"_So why are we not riding off in search of her?"_

"_There is no need for riding, Minstrel." The fair Detective said giving him a pointed look._

_The Minstrel frowned as he pondered upon her words. Suddenly his face brightened._

"_There is no need to ride off for Mistress Forte is all ready safely ensconced in one of the interview rooms awaiting our arrival." The Minstrel declared._

"_Not just a pretty face I see, Minstrel." The fair Detective said with some amusement. _

"_I'll have you know, my dear Detective, that I am a man of many talents." The Minstrel's eyebrows danced up and down in a manner most suggestive._

_The fair Detective Beckett rolled her eyes and shook her head at the Minstrel but the small smile remained upon her lips._

"_Shall we tarry no longer, Minstrel?" The fair Detective said as she rose from her chair._

"_Lead the way, my dear Detective." The Minstrel motioned. _

_The fair Detective Beckett swept past the Minstrel and he followed a pace behind her. His eyes were drawn to the sway of her hips as she walked. If he did not know better he could have sworn that she was doing it on purpose. He let out a silent groan. The seductive sway of the fair Detective's hips would be the death of him, he thought._

_Quickly the Minstrel put aside such thoughts once the fair Detective reached the door to the interview room and glanced to the Minstrel. He schooled his face and followed her into the room._

_Mistress Elizabeth Forte was seated at the table with a nervous disposition upon her face. She was aged in her middle thirties with shoulder length straw coloured hair and dressed in clothes that bespoke of a career in commerce. They were neither expensive nor had they been purchased out of the bargain bin at a local market._

_The fair Detective Beckett greeted the woman with a brief smile before she took a seat on the other side of the table. The Minstrel waited a moment until the fair Detective was seated before he took his own seat._

"_Mistress Forte, I'm Detective Beckett." The fair Detective announced,"And this is Richard the Minstrel"_

"_What am I doing here?" Mistress Forte demanded._

"_Does the name Samuel Cavanaugh toll any bells for you?" The fair Detective replied._

"_What of him?" _

"_We found the body of his wife, Melanie." The fair Detective informed her. "It appears that she was killed around about the time you were conducting an affair with Samuel."_

_Mistress Forte's face hardened. She took a breath and stared back at the fair Detective._

"_I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about, Detective."_

"_Is that really how you want to play it, Mistress Forte?" The fair Detective challenged. "Do you really want me to start excavating around in your life?"_

_Mistess Forte's eyes widened with alarm. The fair Detective leaned forward in her chair._

"_Make no mistake, Mistress Forte, I am more than happy to engage in such an exercise. I will talk to your colleagues and friends, and if I have to I will talk to your husband."_

_Mistress Forte's face paled she looked at the Minstrel but his face remained neutral. She turned her eyes back to the fair Detective._

"_Please do not do that." Mistress Forte said in a low voice. "My husband knows nothing of this."_

"_Enlighten us on what you know." The Minstrel said in a gentle tone._

"_I met Sam when I was transferred to the down town branch of the counting house." Mistress Forte said. "He was in new accounts. We were both pretty unhappy at the time."_

"_How long did the affair last?" The fair Detective asked._

"_About six months."_

"_Why did it come to an end?" The Minstrel inquired._

"_I came to the realisation that I was in love with my husband."_

_The Minstrel let out a derisive snort. A look of disbelief pasted upon his face._

"_Please." He scoffed. "No one ends an affair because they realise they are still in love. They end and affair because they're scared."_

_The fair Detective Beckett glanced in the direction of the Minstrel but the Minstrel held Mistress Forte's gaze._

"_Scared of taking the affair to another level, scared of being found out, scared of ruining their life." The Minstrel paused and leaned forward. "Pray tell, Mistress Forte, what were you scared of ?"_

"_Him." Mistress Forte said in a low voice. "I was scared of Sam."_

"_Why?" The fair Detective said._

"_He started to ask me what I would do if he wasn't with his wife, if she was not in the picture anymore."_

"_And when was that?"_

"_A few weeks before she disappeared. When I learned of the news that she had disappeared, I ended things. He became very angry. It got so bad that I had to transfer to another branch."_

"_I'm sorry, you have five years, Mistress Forte." The fair Detective said angrily. "Five whole years and you never came forward."_

"_What's it matter?" Mistress Forte retorted. "What's it matter if Sam killed Melanie? He's dead, they're both dead. So what's it matter anymore?"_

_The Minstrel felt the fair Detective tense up with Mistress Forte's last remark. Without further word the fair Detective pushed back in her chair and rose to her feet she strode to the door and opened it. The Minstrel too rose to his feet. He gave Mistress Forte a nod of goodbye before he turned and followed the fair Detective from the Interrogation room. A uniformed officer stepped into the room to escort Mistress Forte out._

_XXX_

_Richard the Minstrel stood in the middle of the spacious entrance hall of his abode. The lamps had been turned down low to provide a cover of shadows. He was dressed in a padded black leather vest, the lower half of his body was encased in thick woollen hose coloured black to match his vest. In his right hand he held a fencing sword whose tip was padded. He moved with caution, his ears pricked for any little sound that may come. His eyes swept the room carefully and deliberately, checking the shadows where someone might seek cover. A confident smile was etched upon his handsome features._

"_You can run rebel, but you shall not defeat the forces of Voltar." He called out in a dramatic tone of voice._

"_Death to Voltar." Alexis called out. "Death to Voltarians!"_

_The Minstrel cocked his ear and smiled even more. His daughter had called out from the living room. He turned slowly and crossed the entrance hall. He paused in the doorway leading into the living room, half expecting to be ambushed by his daughter. The living room was cast in shadows even darker that the entrance hall. There were plenty of positions in which to hide. He knew well most of them but his daughter was nothing if she was not resourceful._

"_I sense fear in you." The Minstrel said._

"_Ha! You sense nothing!" Alexis called back._

_The grinning Minstrel passed through the door. He had taken several steps before Alexis, his daughter emerged from cover behind one of the columns. She too was dressed in a padded leather vest that was the coloured in a shade of red that matched the colour of her flaming locks as was the hose she sported. She too was wielding a fencing sword. She raised the sword as she took a stance._

"_So Voltaran we meet upon the field of battle." She said._

"_Indeed we do, rebel." The Minstrel agreed, unable to mask the enjoyment he was experiencing in this role playing with his beloved daughter._

"_Prepare to die, Voltaran" Alexis challenged._

"_Ha" Came the scoffing reply._

_The Minstrel cautiously approached his daughter. For many a year he and his daughter engaged in these fencing battles in and around their home. The Minstrel had learned not to take his daughter lightly for she had become very accomplished with the fencing sword and many had been the times of late where she ended up the victor. The expensive fencing lessons he had paid for were well worth the cost._

_The Minstrel came to a stop a short distance from his daughter. He raised his sword to the enguard position. Alexis did the same._

"_To the death, Voltaran?"_

"_Is there any other way, Rebel?" The Minstrel retorted._

"_Then your blood shall stain the floor upon which you stand, Voltaran."_

"_Bold words, Rebel."_

_Alexis suddenly leaped towards her father lunging with her sword. The Minstrel parried the sword with a flick of his wrist. He moved forward to attack but his daughter was quick to block his attack._

_It was in this moment that the Lady Martha chose to make her entrance. She came down the stairs dressed in a bright red silk robe, down into the living room oblivious to the sword battle taking place in the middle of the living room._

"_Has anyone seen my purse?" She inquired. _

_Alexis quickly ducked behind her granddam._

"_Mother." The Minstrel whined. "Have you no care that we are engaged in battle on the field of honour?"_

_The Lady Martha shot her son a look of disbelief. "How old are you?"_

"_Old enough to afford top of the line fencing swords." The Minstrel beamed._

_The Lady Martha could only shake her head at the response of her son._

_Alexis on seeing that her father was otherwise engaged chose that moment to make her move. She emerged from behind the cover of her granddam and lunged at her father. The padded point of her sword struck true right in the middle of the embroided bulleye on left side of the vest the Minstrel wore._

"_Ha!" Alexis cried. "Die Voltaran! Victory is mine." She danced about in a spontaneous victory dance._

_The Minstrel shot his mother an exasperated look._

"_I'm dead mother." He whined. "Now Voltar will never rule the omniverse."_

"_There's always tomorrow, dear." The Lady Martha said soothingly._

_The Minstrel was going to continue with his protest at his mother's untimely intervention but he was forestalled by a loud knock upon his front door. All three heads turned in the direction of the entrance hall._

"_Did someone order food?" The Minstrel questioned._

"_No." The Lady Martha and Alexis replied in unison._

_The Minstrel turned on his heels and marched into the entrance hall and up to the front door. He raised his sword as he opened the door._

"_Who deigns to darken my doorstep?" _

_The fair Detective Beckett was feeling a little nervous as she stood on the doorstep of the Minstrel's abode. She had been in the squad room staring at the Wall of Murder for more hours than she cared to measure, trying to find out how Samuel Cavanaugh had managed to kill his wife. Nothing leaped out at her as she stared at the pictures pinned to the wall. In the end she gave up knowing that no matter how long or hard she gazed upon the wall she would find nothing. It rankled her no end that she could not solve the mystery she was confronted with. _

_Out of desperation or hope, she knew not which it was, but the fair Detective Beckett found herself at the Minstrel's door. If anyone could solve a mystery would it not be someone who wrote mysteries for a living, she figured._

_The fair Detective was startled when the door swung open and found herself confronted with a blunted sword point a mere foot from her. Instinctively her hand started to reach for her weapon but paused. She took in the Minstrel dressed in his fancy fencing attire and her eyes widened in surprise._

"_Hello." The fair Detective said hesitantly, shyly._

"_Greetings, my dear Detective." _

_The Minstrel too was surprised at finding the fair Detective Beckett standing before him but his surprise was quickly replaced by a welcoming smile._

_The fair Detective could not help but return the Minstrel's smile._

"_Father who is it?" Alexis inquired as she came to join her father. _

_The fair Detective could not help but noticed that the Minstrel's daughter was dressed in similar attire as her father. She could not help but wonder what she had interrupted._

"_It is the fair Detective Beckett." The Minstrel informed his daughter. Then the Lady Martha joined them at the door._

"_Darling, are we entertaining?" She asked._

_For what seemed like and awkward eternity the fair Detective stared at the Minstrel and his family while the Minstrel and his family stared back at he fair Detective. It was Alexis who broke the spell._

"_Father." She said as she nudged her father._

"_Huh?" The Minstrel muttered, unable to take his eyes off the fair Detective, still not quite able to believe that she was standing there before him._

"_Manners." Alexis whispered loudly._

"_Gadzooks!" The Minstrel decried. "Where are my manners? Please, come in, come in, welcome."_

_The Minstrel and his family stood aside to allow the fair Detective entrance. The fair Detective took in the entrance hall with what looked like some expensive decorations. A quick look was all she needed before she turned to face the Minstrel._

"_You know my mother, the Lady Martha and Alexis." The Minstrel said doing the introductions._

"_Hello." The fair Detective said._

"_So to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, my dear Detective?"_

"_May I have a word with you in private, Minstrel?"_

_The Minstrel escorted the fair Detective into his study. The fair Detective Beckett paused a moment to take in this room as well. The bookshelves were stocked with books most of them novels of mystery, many which she too had read. The details of his life were on display for her to see. She could not help but think that he had good taste._

"_I feel like Alfred in the Batcave." The fair Detective murmured._

"_A caped crusader fan, it figures." The Minstrel said with a chuckle._

_The fair Detective turned to look at the Minstrel. "Why do you say that?" She asked._

"_Similar origin stories." The Minstrel explained. "Loss of a loved one leads to a life of crime fighting."_

"_Well, you are the wealthy crime fighter." _

_The Minstrel smiled and nodded his head._

_The fair Detective's eye caught sight of the large board that stood to the side of the Minstrel's writing desk. She walked to it and studied it. There were pictures pinned to the wall and scraps of paper with notes written in the Minstrel's copperplate style. A little frisson of delight coursed through the fair Detective as she studied the board and saw that the Minstrel had outlined upon it his latest work._

_The Minstrel regarded the fair detective as she studied the storyboard. He removed the vest he was wearing setting it on the back of the chair. He sat down upon the chair and continued to look at the young woman._

"_Upon that board is where I outline my books." The Minstrel informed her._

"_Most amusing, it looks like our Wall of Murder."_

"_Indeed but mine is fake."_

_The fair Detective Beckett turned away from the Minstrel's storyboard and looked at the Minstrel. She could not conceal the pensive look from her fair face. She moved slowly towards the bookshelves._

"_Is something the matter, my dear Detective?" The Minstrel inquired, concern filling his face as he watched the fair Detective._

_The fair Detective Beckett reached the bookshelf stopped and turned on her heels to look at the Minstrel._

"_I can not find it." she declared._

"_Find what?" _

"_The answer."_

"_It was Sam." the Minstrel replied, his face softening a little as he gazed upon the fair Detective. "Everything fits and truly it is a good ending."_

"_Truly. Alas without proof, it is just a theory." _

_The fair Detective moved away from the bookshelves and came to a halt beside the Minstrel's writing desk. She looked over to the Minstrel._

"_That family, those children need more than just a theory. They need to know." The fair Detective said vehemently. "I need to know."_

_The Minstrel nodded his head in understanding. He knew well that the fair Detective's words held deeper meaning than just the present case they were discussing. He did not dwell upon that as his face lightened._

"_Well, my dear Detective you have yourself an ending." He said. "If you want the rest, you will need to work backwards."_

_The fair Detective Beckett shot the Minstrel a quizzical look. Warming to the subject the Minstrel continued speaking._

"_You need to finish the story. You have an ending." The Minstrel rose from the chair upon which he was sitting. "You have your killer. You just have to put it together with the facts at hand."_

"_Facts?"_

"_Fact." The Minstrel announced with a raised finger. "They had two small children."_

"_So?"_

"_Based on the constabulary statements they did not have a nursemaid or nanny." The Minstrel pointed out. "With Samuel at work, she would have had to have been with the children the day she disappeared."_

"_But Samuel said that she had left later that night." The fair Detective shot back._

"_Which the doorman was never able to corroborate." The Minstrel returned._

"_So, if she was there, and she never left, then..."_

"_She met her untimely demise there in the apartment." The Minstrel said finishing the fair Detective's sentence._

"_Yeah." The fair Detective breathed._

"_Another fact. He lived in Manhattan town."_

"_And like most of the people in Manhattan, he did not own a wagon or cart." The fair Detective tossed out. She could not keep the smile from her lips at the back and forth between them._

"_So what is a good husband to do, living in Manhattan, with his wife's body?" The Minstrel had walked away from where he had been standing beside the chair and came to sit beside the fair Detective Beckett. "He can not leave it in the apartment. He can not walk out the lobby with it. So the only question is..."_

"_How did he get the body to the storage facility?" _

_How indeed, the Minstrel wondered as his train of thought came to a screeching halt. He frown deeply at the question the fair Detective Beckett posed. _

"_He...he could...No." The Minstrel stammered and stopped. His ruggedly handsome face was creased in a frown of deep thought. He glanced across to the fair Detective and saw her open her mouth to say something but she closed it immediately and shook her head._

_For a few minutes and maybe more the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel whilst sitting side by side on the edge of his writing desk silently pondering the question of how their murderer was able to remove the body of his goodwife from the abode they lived in._

_The Minstrel was all but ready to give up pondering the question that weighed heavy on their thoughts. Suddenly his face brightened with excitement as an idea came to him._

"_Do you know what helps?" He announced._

_The fair Detective Beckett turned her head to look upon the Minstrel. The expectant look upon her face was all the encouragement the Minstrel needed to continue._

"_Sometimes, when I'm trying to figure out how a character of mine does something, I will walk the scene of the crime."_

_The fair Detective Beckett raised her eyebrows in silent question._

"_There was this time I was struggling to work out how to throw someone off the tallest building in town, and that novel 'Sleepless in Albany' had just come out." The Minstrel paused and let out a little chuckle. "There were so many lonely women approach me, thinking I was their..."_

"_Minstrel!" The fair Detective Beckett snapped. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the side road he had just taken._

_The Minstrel sobered up and looked at the fair Detective Beckett._

"_The point I am labouring to make, my dear Detective is, you want to get into the killer's head, go to where the killer was. Observe what problems he had to face."_

_The fair Detective Beckett stared at the Minstrel. The frown that had been creasing her face faded quickly. A smile began to tug at the corners of her lips as she realised that the Minstrel had made a good point._

"_Field excursion?" The Minstrel said expectantly._

_A smile blossomed across the fair Detective Beckett's face. She nodded her head..._

Castle came to a halt in the story and looked down to find that Kate had fallen asleep. He smiled on finding that sometime during the telling of the story she had reached out and took hold of his hand. He reached out with his free hand to the night stand and turned down the lamp.

"Until the morning, Kate." he whispered.

"Night, Castle." Kate replied sleepily.

XXXXX

_**Your thoughts upon this humble effort would be most appreciated.**_

_**Con **_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Dear Reader, please accept my most humble and abject apologies for the tardiness of this story. Alas other tales required telling before this. And so here it is, the concluding chapter of this tale. Please enjoy.**_

Chapter 12

Castle opened the front door and walked in to find that the lights of the loft had been muted. A glance at his watch saw that it was a little after ten o'clock. He felt a little guilty for being late. He had promised to be home early evening. He had meetings at Black Pawn for most of the day discussing the new book. Gina had given him hell for not having finished the last chapter as he had promised. Catching hell from his ex-wife was nothing new. He had promised to have the final chapter finished by the end of the week and that seemed to have appeased her. Just.

Later on he had caught up with Ryan and Esposito for an update on the case but they had found nothing new. As frustrating as that was it did not surprise him. The shooter had disappeared into thin air it seemed. He had gone over the case with the two detectives to see if he could find something that be could turn out to be a lead but after several hours he had come up with nothing, just like they had. Again.

He dropped his keys into the bowl on the sideboard and moved into the loft. The loft seemed too quiet and he figured that everyone had gone to bed. At least Alexis and Kate may have gone to bed, knowing his mother she was probably out on the town with some of her friends kicking up their heels. It was a thought he did not dwell on. His eyes were drawn to the living room and saw that the television was on but the volume had been muted. As he walked in that direction he saw the blanketed figure on the couch.

Kate heard his approach and turned her head.

"Hey." She said quietly. Slowly she rose into a sitting position, letting the blanket fall down. She pulled back the hair that had fallen across her face.

Castle smiled at her.

"Hey yourself." He glanced over to the TV. It was some old sitcom rerun. "Are you practising your lip reading skills?"

"I thought I might give it a try." Kate smiled

Castle sat down beside her. "So, how's that going?"

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, need more practice."

"I'm sorry I'm late." He told her.

"Don't worry about it."

"But..."

"Don't worry about it." Kate repeated.

Castle nodded his head. He turned to watch the TV

"Alexis is upstairs." Kate informed him. "Had some homework."

Castle looked back at her and saw the gentle smile on her lips. She quirked her eyebrow.

Castle could not help but smile back at her. He had been thinking why Alexis had left Kate on her own. It was as if she had read his mind.

"So how are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm good." Kate nodded. "Getting better."

"Good to hear."

They sat there in comfortable silence watching the TV for a few minutes. Castle was startled out of his reverie when he felt Kate rest her head against his shoulder. He turned his head to look down at her. Kate's focus was the TV. He was half expecting at any moment to realise what she had done and immediately sit up straight. Kate did not move. That was the other half of his expectation, that she would not move.

"Felling sleepy, are we?" He asked.

"Nope." Kate replied. "I had a long nap this afternoon."

"Okay."

"Feeling up to telling me the rest of the story?" Kate asked.

"Sure."

"Are we nice and comfy?" Castle said, chuckling.

"Mmm." Kate nodded her head.

Castle reached over with his free hand and drew the blanket over her, making sure she kept warm. She turned her head slight and smiled at him.

"Definitely, nice and comfy." Kate murmured.

Castle smiled down at her.

Castle had to think back for a moment to recall where he had left off the story. It had been a couple of days since the last time he told the story. A moment later it came back to him and he smiled even more.

_...Once more the fair Detective Beckett and Richard the Minstrel found themselves standing in the lodgings of Master Roger. Both the fair detective and the Minstrel were slowly taking the surrounds while Master Roger watched them with a bewildered look upon his visage._

"_They told me he met his demise in a mugging that went awry." Master Roger said. "And now you tell he was killed here, in my lodgings?"_

"_Nay, not him." The Minstrel replied. "His spouse."_

"_His spouse!" Master Roger exclaimed, becoming visibly agitated. "Pray tell, what kind of family was this?"_

_The Minstrel completed his examination of the room in which they stood. He turned to face the fair detective._

"_Verily, so we are married." The Minstrel said._

"_Nay, we are not married." The fair Detective snapped._

"_Be at ease, my dear detective." The Minstrel said, a smile growing on his face. "It is just pretend."_

"_I do not want to pretend."_

"_Fear that you might like it?" The Minstrel said, leaning closer to the fair detective, smiling even more._

"_Verily, if we are married, I want a divorce." The fair detective declared._

_Master Roger had watched the exchange before him. Still bewildered he ventured to speak._

"_Are you two like this all the time?" He inquired._

"_Yes!" Said the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel in unison as they rounded on Master Roger. They suddenly looked at each having realised they had spoken together. _

_It was the Minstrel who broke the staring contest._

"_Alas. we are not married, but they were." The Minstrel said. "Pray say that the doorman was correct. Melanie returned home about four o'clock in the afternoon."_

_The fair Detective's face brightened._

"_She would have had to have prepared dinner for the children."_

_The Minstrel nodded his head and turned and strode towards the kitchen that was to be found in Master Roger's lodgings. The fair Detective Beckett followed him into the kitchen._

"_Then Samuel returns home." He ventured._

"_Counting House hours, around six o'clock." The fair Detective added._

"_By then the children would have eaten." The Minstrel said._

"_So...they're amusing themselves in the bedroom?"_

_The Minstrel nodded his head, enjoying the building of theory with the fair Detective._

"_What in my bedroom?" Master Roger interjected._

"_Hush." The Minstrel said glancing in the direction of the bewildered looking Master Roger. "See you not, we are on a roll."_

"_They have a fight." The fair Detective Beckett declared._

"_About the illicit liaison."_

"_About Philadelphia."_

_The Minstrel nodded his head eagerly and moved to stand closer to the fair Detective._

"_The argument becomes heated."_

"_And she turns her head..."_

"_He strikes her with something." The Minstrel declares._

_The Minstrel and the fair Detective pause as they look about them in search of a cooking utensil that could act as murder weapon. The fair Detective Beckett reached for a copper pot and held it up for the Minstrel to see._

"_A pot." She announced. She looked at what the Minstrel was holding and found that he held in his hand a large iron frying pan. "Or a pan."_

_The Minstrel waves the pan in a striking motion._

"_Wack! He strikes her hard. Cracks her skull."_

"_Alas, the children are still in their bedroom." The fair Detective pointed out. "He has to figure out a way to remove her from the apartment without the children seeing."_

_Richard the Minstrel surveyed the terrain of the abode and anon his eyes rested upon a door in the hallway. Through the open door he espied the bathroom of the abode. His face lit up._

"_The hallway bathroom." He announced._

_Both the Minstrel and the fair Detective Beckett departed from the kitchen and moved to the bathroom._

"_He needed to purchase more time." The Minstrel said._

"_Verily." The fair Detective Beckett said as she surveyed the bathroom. Her face brightened as she pointed. "He placed the body in the tub. And then closes the door."_

_Master Roger had followed the fair Detective and the Minstrel from the kitchen and now stood in the doorway of his own bathroom. He let out a cry of surprise when the fair detective closed the door in his face. _

_The Minstrel nodded his head in agreement at what the fair Detective Beckett had said._

"_He tells the children their mother has gone forth to the shop." The fair Detective Beckett added._

"_Which according to the case file, the man at the door of this building was never able to substantiate." The Minstrel pointed out._

_The fair Detective nodded her head and then her face slowly creased into a frown._

"_He has no mode of transport." The fair Detective Beckett said as she looked at the Minstrel who stood close to her. "How does he transfer the body from this abode?"_

_Master Roger pushed open the door. His patience was sorely tested at the intrusion of the Fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel but he said not a word about that. Instead he spoke something else._

"_Mayhap he hailed a hansom cab?" Master Roger ventured._

_The fair Detective Beckett rounded on Master Roger. "Truly, mayhap the cabbie assisted in putting the body in the trunk." She said tersely. "How much do you tip for that these days?"_

"_The doorman!" The Minstrel exclaimed._

"_Minstrel, I was jesting."_

_The Minstrel could not help but smile as he looked at the fair Detective._

"_What if the body was already in the trunk when he transferred it from this abode?"_

"_A trunk?" Master Roger said. "He would have needed a wagon."_

_The Minstrel looked to Master Roger._

"_In this building, if you have something picked up or delivered, do you have to sign for it?"_

"_That is true." Master Roger nodded his head. "A delivery the size of a trunk one would have to affix their signature in the ledger."_

"_The ledger?" The fair Detective Beckett questioned._

"_The ledger that is maintained by the doorman downstairs."_

_The fair Detective Beckett thanked Master Roger for his assistance in the investigation and both her and the Minstrel repaired to the ground floor and spoke with the doorman. The doorman was most eager to assist the fair Detective in her inquiries. It took the man but little time to find the ledger from five years past._

_Once that ledger was in the fair Detective Beckett's possession she and the Minstrel perused through the pages searching for the entry for the day when Melanie Cavanaugh met her demise. Anon they found the entry._

_The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel were standing before the door of the apartment of the Widow Marsh. The Widow Marsh, a woman around seventy summers old and short of stature, stood in the doorway and examined the page of the ledger that the fair Detective was holding out for her to inspect. _

"_Truly, that is my name." The Widow Marsh confirmed._

"_Verily it was five years ago, Widow Marsh, but the the only delivery that day was to your abode." The fair Detective Beckett said. "If you remember anything at all about the delivery..."_

"_I remember." The Widow Marsh declared. "I had to go downstairs to sort everything out."_

"_Pray tell what do you mean, 'sort everything out'?" The fair Detective inquired._

"_I informed the doorman I had never ordered a trunk." The Widow Marsh said. "But the navvy brought it on up. He loaded it up on the freight elevator while I was having words with the doorman."_

"_What transpired when you were downstairs?"_

"_I informed the doorman that they had gotten the incorrect apartment again." The Widow Marsh sighed. "Upon my return, the navvy had gone. Does this have to do with that missing woman?"_

"_It does." the fair Detective Beckett confirmed. _

"_I already told the other policeman this information." The Widow Marsh announced._

"_Investigator Sloan?" The fair Detective prompted._

"_I do not remember his name but I told him everything as I have told you." The Widow Marsh asserted._

_The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel emerged from the apartment building and proceeded to where their horses awaited them. On reaching the hitching post. It was the Minstrel who espied a covered wagon trundling along the road past them. He regarded the passing wagon carefully._

"_Tis the same wagon that we espied outside Master Wyler's emporium." The Minstrel remarked, pointing out the wagon to the fair Detective. The fair Detective Beckett watched the wagon for a moment before she turned to the Minstrel_

"_He must have a contract with them." The fair Detective remarked._

"_If you want assistance with some heavy lifting, who would you call upon?" The Minstrel said pointedly._

"_Your best friend." The fair Detective declared._

_Upon their steeds did the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel did jump and away they rode in haste._

_XXX_

_Master Tyler esquire now found himself acquainted with the inside of one of the interrogation rooms of the police house. He was not best pleased to answer the summons from the constabulary late in the afternoon but of choice in the matter he had none. _

_He was seated at the table in the interrogation room looking more than passing miserable. Across from him sat the fair Detective Beckett her countenance was that of disapproval and disdain at the man who faced her. Richard the Minstrel chose to remain standing leaning against a far wall but his eyes focused upon Master Tyler._

"_We can trace the rental of the delivery wagon to you, Master Tyler." The fair Detective declared. "If you want we can bring the good lady you had the trunk delivered to to come in and identify you."_

_A look of deep concern marred master Tyler's countenance. He looked up to the interrogating Detective._

"_Forsooth, I had naught to do with what befell Melanie." Master Tyler insisted._

"_You have lied about everything else, perchance why not with this?" The Minstrel scoffed._

"_I had no reason to hurt her."_

"_But Samuel had reason, correct?" The fair Detective continued, regarding the emporium owner carefully. "She kept returning to her ex-paramour. How much could a good husband put up with?"_

_Master Tyler let out a long sigh and told of the night after Melanie had met her demise._

"_He came to me that night in alarm." Master Tyler said slowly. "He said that he needed for me to come with him to his abode. When we arrived, the children were asleep and Melanie was in the tub. He had placed her remains in a garment bag. Samuel said to me that she had come at him, and he took leave of his senses...and struck her."_

"_Forsooth why did he not entertain the idea of separating from her, divorce her mayhap?" The Minstrel jested._

"_Think you not I was aware how wrong it was?" Master Tyler exclaimed heatedly._

"_Truly why take the risk?" The Minstrel questioned. "Why did you remove the body?"_

"_Because he made a very grave error. And what of the children? Their mother was dead and if he went to gaol..."_

_Master Tyler shook his head unable to finish the sentence._

"_So you arranged for the wagon." The fair Detective said._

_Master Tyler nodded his head. "He said it should not be traced back to him." He said. "Tis reason why the trunk was sent to the old lady. Tis why I rented the storage space. We knew well the constabulary would look to Samuel as a likely suspect."_

"_And you made the payments?"_

"_Truly that is so. Samuel feared to take any chances. So, he would pass over the coins and I would pay twice a year."_

"_For five years?" The Minstrel said._

"_It seemed a lot easier than to have moved her."_

"_Pray tell why did you stop making payments?" The fair Detective inquired._

"_Truly I am sorry of what befell Melanie." Master Tyler said with a beseeching look upon his face. "What was I to do? Keep paying for the rest of my days?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett closed the folio that she had brought into the interrogation room with her. She rose to her feet and fixed master Tyler with a look. Her fair countenance had darkened._

"_Mark this well, Master Tyler." she said. "The prosecutor and I will make sure of that."_

_XXX_

_The Minstrel was perched in the chair beside the desk of the fair Detective Beckett. He held in his hands a file which had attracted his interest and was reading. The fair Detective Beckett was standing close to her desk speaking with Sir Roy, the Sheriff having briefed him on the outcome of the case._

"_So her body is dumped because Master Tyler failed to pay an account?" Sir Roy said._

"_Ironic is it not?" The Minstrel announced looking up from the file in his hands. "That such a selfish act in the end revealed the truth."_

"_Truly, there were people who knew the truth all along." The fair Detective Beckett fumed. "They made the choice not to."_

_Sir Roy the Sheriff nodded his head. A moment later his countenance brightened._

"_And so the Gods took their revenge and Samuel met an untimely demise and thus all is right with the world." _

_Sir Roy the Sheriff bid the fair Detective good night and took his leave. The fair Detective Beckett glanced at her time piece and walked over to where the Minstrel was seated._

"_I am going to speak with Melanie's parents." The fair Detective announced. "And inform them how this story turned out. Would you care to accompany me?"_

_The Minstrel looked up from the file he had been perusing. A curious look was upon his face._

"_The old woman with the trunk delivery informed us that she talked to a member of the constabulary." He remarked._

"_Indeed. Sloan." The fair Detective replied._

"_And yet he did not list her name in this report."_

"_Mayhap, he felt not the need to as he considered it unimportant." The fair Detective said. "He was not of the opinion that he was looking at a murder."_

_The Minstrel nodded his head. "Truly that may be so. Then why would you interview a neighbour about a trunk delivery?"_

_The fair Detective Beckett gave pause to ponder the question that the Minstrel had just posed. As much as she tried, alas an answer she could find not. Neither could the Minstrel if the look upon his face was to go by. However, all was not lost. The fair Detective Beckett knew where the answer to the question posed by the Minstrel could be found._

_XXX_

_The Widow Marsh was taken aback upon answering her door to find the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel standing in her doorway._

"_This must truly be some trunk." She remarked._

"_You mentioned when we last spoke, a member of the constabulary spoke with you." The fair Detective said without preamble. "I realise that it has been five years, Widow Marsh..."_

"_I said not that it was five years." The Widow Marsh interjected._

"_Pray tell when did he come to see you?" The Minstrel asked._

"_I believe it was last year sometime." The Widow Marsh said. "I remember thinking, 'why is this member of the constabulary asking me questions about a trunk I never ordered'?"_

"_Do you remember anything about the man?" The fair Detective inquired._

"_He was older."_

"_In uniform?"_

"_Nay, in plain clothes." The Widow Marsh reported. "He had grey hair and walked with a limp."_

_The fair Detective Beckett looked to the Minstrel both wore looks of surprise at this revelation._

"_Master Davidson." the Minstrel declared._

"_Melanie's father." The fair Detective added._

_XXX_

_The fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel sat upon their horses out the front of home of Master Davidson. The fair Detective was gazing at the house. Through one of the windows she espied a typical familial scene, children playing with their grand sire. The Minstrel looked away from the house before them and to the fair Detective. He saw the unhappiness that resided on her face._

"_You could leave it like it is." He said softly. "Samuel is dead, the Sheriff is happy. Those little ones appear to be happy."_

_The fair Detective Beckett looked sharply at him._

"_Know it well the difference tween a story and the real world, Minstrel." The fair detective said. "A member of the constabulary is empowered not to decide how a tale ends."_

_The Minstrel remained in the saddle and could only watch as the fair Detective dismounted and approached the front door of the house. The door was answered after she knocked by Master Davidson. It was not long after that all three returned to the city._

_XXX_

_And so it came to pass Master Davidson found himself in the interrogation room facing the fair Detective Beckett and the Minstrel._

"_I am here because I asked questions of a woman about a trunk?" Master Davidson said._

"_Not any trunk, Master Davidson." The Minstrel said. "The trunk that your daughter's body was stored in."_

_Master Davidson looked from the Minstrel and then to the fair Detective._

"_Let us assume for the moment that what you say is true, what is the charge?" He challenged._

"_If Widow Marsh's answers led to Sam's demise, then the charge would be murder." The fair Detective informed him._

_Master Davidson looked down at his hands that he had resting on upon the table and considered what he had been told. After some moments he lifted his head._

"_I continued to mull over what Sam had said." Master Davidson said. "Everything that he claimed had occurred on that night, until I drew the same conclusion that you both have drawn. That my daughter did not leave the apartment that night alive. The Widow Marsh's answers merely confirmed what I already knew."_

"_That your son-in-law was a killer." The fair Detective supplied._

"_If you had deduced what Sam had committed, why not go to the constabulary?" The Minstrel questioned. "He would have been sent to gaol for the remainder of his life."_

"_If he had been convicted." Master Davidson pointed out angrily. "Remember not, the constabulary did not have a body. His lawyers would have put Melanie on trial."_

"_So you took matters into your own hands." The fair Detective said._

_Master Davidson leaned back in his chair and once more looked from the Minstrel to the fair Detective._

"_One could well understand how a father might want to." He said. "How he might follow his daughter's murderer one dark evening, when he is assured there are no other souls about. How he might confront him with a weapon that he had brought back from a past war. Might even consent to promise forgiveness if the truth is told. And, upon hearing his confession, be overcome with rage."_

"_Killing him was not the answer." The fair Detective said quietly._

_Master Davidson looked at the fair Detective and straightened in his chair._

"_I said not that he met his demise at my hand. I said that a father might be justified." Master Davidson said. "The constabulary informed me that Sam met his demise during a robbery. And without evidence, there is little hope that his killer would ever be brought to justice. We shall see that if that is true or not. I would like to see a lawyer, if I could."_

_The fair Detective Beckett drew the interview to a close. She rose from her chair and departed from the room. The Minstrel was not far behind her._

_XXX_

_Richard the Minstrel walked around the corner and came upon the fair Detective Beckett sitting at her desk regarding a picture of Melanie Cavanaugh. He quietly settled himself upon his chair. The fair Detective set the picture in the file and closed it. She glanced at the Minstrel offering him a small sad smile._

"_By the way." she said. "It was my mother, not my father."_

_The Minstrel sat up in his chair and said not a word. Patiently he waited to hear more, and long he did not have to wait._

"_We were supposed to have dinner together, my mother, my father and I. She was going to meet us at the tavern, but show she did not. After two hours my father and I returned home and there waiting for us was an investigator. A Detective Raglan. The constabulary had found her body. She had been stabbed."_

"_A robbery?" The Minstrel asked, his voice barely a whisper._

_The fair Detective shook her head. "She still had her money and purse and jewellery. They attributed it to gang violence. A random, wayward event. So, just like Melanie's case, they could not think outside the square. So they just tried to package it up nicely. And the killer was never found."_

_The Minstrel could see the fair Detective's eyes shinning with unshed tears._

"_Why do you wear the time piece?" He asked._

"_My father took her death very hard." The fair Detective replied. "He's sober now. Five years."_

_The Minstrel nodded his head in understanding._

_The fair Detective showed the Minstrel the time piece. "So this is for the life I saved. And..."_

_The fair Detective paused in her story and reached into her shirt and pulled out a necklace on which was diamond ring. "...this is for the life that I lost."_

_The fair Detective Beckett forced a smile to her face as she looked over to the Minstrel._

"_I suppose your Lady Nicole has a tragic back story now, Minstrel?"_

_The Minstrel shrugged his shoulders as he gave consideration to what the fair Detective had said._

"_I don't know...I was enamoured of the exotic dancer by day and investigator by night thing." The Minstrel replied with a small smile on his face. "I suppose that a heavy emotional angle could work as well."_

_The fair Detective Beckett smiled as she rose from her desk and gathered her things in preparation for departure for the evening._

"_Well, bewilder not your audience with substance on my account, Minstrel." _

"_Fare thee well Detective Beckett, till the morrow." The Minstrel said._

"_Pray tell why you can not simply say 'goodnight' like normal people, Minstrel?"_

_Richard the Minstrel smiled up at the fair Detective Beckett._

"_A couple of reasons." He said._

"_And they are...?" The fair Detective raised a dainty eyebrow in the Minstrel's direction._

"_First of all, I'm not like normal people."_

_The fair Detective forced herself to purse her lips to hold back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue. She merely nodded her head._

"_Secondly, I am a Minstrel. It is my lot in life to weave words in such a manner."_

_The fair Detective nodded her head in understanding._

"_And, 'till the morrow', sounds more promising.., more hopeful." He said with a smile on his face._

"_You said a couple reasons, you just gave me three."_

"_And I am a Minstrel not a mathematician." _

_The fair Detective Beckett smiled. "Well I'm an investigator, so good night Minstrel." She said as she left._

"_Good night, Detective Beckett." The Minstrel said as he watched her depart. Then added in a quiet voice. "Till the morrow."..._

Castle finished the story and looked down at Kate expecting to find her asleep instead he saw a pair of luminescent emerald eyes gazing happily up at him.

"The end." Castle said.

Kate laughed at that. A moment later the laughter was engulfed by a yawn.

"It's late, I think it's time for bed."

Kate nodded her head. Slowly moved into a sitting position. She pulled the blanket aside.

Castle rose off the couch and stood up. He held out his hand to her. Kate bit on her lip but made no move to take his hand. Realising he might have overstepped Castle gave her an apologetic look and dropped his hand. Yet Kate still did not make any move to get up.

"Umm, Castle." Kate said hesitantly. "Would you mind if you carried me?"

Castle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Kate nodded.

"Okay."

Castle knelt on the couch. He slid one arm under her knees and the other under her shoulders. Kate immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. He grinned down at her as he gently lifted her off the couch. She hardly weighed much at all, he thought to himself.

"Is this my reward for telling you a story?" Castle asked, as he headed in the direction of the stairs.

"It might be." Kate replied cryptically.

"Castle, where are you taking me?"

Castle paused at the foot of the stairs.

"Umm, upstairs, to your room." He said.

Kate shook her head.

Castle looked down at her unable to hide the confusion on his face. With a tight lipped smile on her face Kate motioned in the direction of Castle's office, and beyond that of his bedroom. Again Castle's eyebrows rose up in surprise. Kate silently watched his face as he processed what she wanted. He gave her a questioning look. Kate motioned to his study again. Surprise slowly melted away with the birth of a leering smile. He turned away from the foot the stairs and started walking toward his study.

"Why, Detective Beckett is this your less than subtle way of having your wicked way with me?"

"Dream on, Mr Castle." Kate laughed.

"Oh I do." He breathed, smiling down at her. "Each and every night."

The End

XXXXX

_**And so another tale has come to an end. My thanks to you all for taking the time to read my humble efforts. My thanks to you for sending me your thoughts and opinions throughout this journey. Who knows, in the fullness of time, the Minstrel may return with another tale to tell.**_

_**As always I would dearly love to hear what you think of this effort.**_

_**Con **_


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